Liesel "Liese" Prokop-Sykora (27 March 1941 – 31 December 2006) was an Austrian athlete and, later in her life, a politician. She competed mainly in the pentathlon.
Liese Prokop | |
|---|---|
 Foto: June, 2006 | |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 22 December 2004 – 31 December 2006 | |
| President | Heinz Fischer |
| Chancellor | Wolfgang Schüssel |
| Preceded by | Ernst Strasser |
| Succeeded by | Wolfgang Schüssel (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 March 1941 Tulln District, Austria (under the German Empire) |
| Died | 31 December 2006 (aged 65) Sankt Pölten, Austria |
| Political party | People's Party |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Austria
| ||
| Women's Athletics | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1968 Mexico City | Pentathlon |
| European Championships | ||
 |
1969 Athens | Pentathlon |
| Universiade | ||
|
1967 Tokyo | Pentathlon |
Biography
editBorn as Liese Sykora in Tulln District, Lower Austria, on 27 March 1941, she graduated from the University of Vienna with a degree in biology and sport.[1][2] In 1965 she married her former coach, Gunnar Prokop. The couple had two sons and a daughter.[2] in 1967, she became student world champion in Tokyo.[2] She competed for Austria in the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico in the Pentathlon where she won the silver medal.[3] In 1969, she became European champion in Athens, breaking the world pentathlon record.[2] In addition, she was Austrian champion in pentathlon, long jump, high jump, hurdles, relay and shot putting.[2]
Prokop began her political career in 1969 and became a member of the Parliament of Lower Austria.[4] She served as regional minister from 1981 to 1992 and vice president of Lower Austria during the period between 1992 and 2004.[4]
She joined Assembly of European Regions (AER) in 1996 and held different administrative positions in the AER, including the president of the AER which she assumed from 2001 to 2004.[4] Later she was made honorary president of the assembly.[4]
Beginning in December 2004 she was Austrian minister of interior for the conservative ÖVP, becoming Austria's first female interior minister.[3][5] She served in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Wolfgang Schüssel until her death on 31 December 2006.[3] She died unexpectedly of aortic dissection while being rushed to a Sankt Pölten hospital on New Year's Eve, 2006.[3] Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel became acting interior minister upon this incident.[6]
She was the sister of Maria Sykora, who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics,[1] and aunt of Winter Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Sykora.
References
edit- ^ a b "Olympic silver medalist Prokop dies at 65". IAAF Athletics. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Interior Minister Liese Prokop". Mauthausen Memorial. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Austrian Interior Minister Liese Prokop, a former Olympian, dead at 65". USA Today. Vienna. AP. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Liese Prokop, AER Honorary President, dies at age 65". Assembly of European Regions. 2 January 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ "Obituaries in the News". The Washington Post. Vienna. AP. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ "Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel". Bertelsmann Stiftung. Retrieved 20 October 2013.