Walter Rosenkranz (born 29 July 1962) is an Austrian far-right[1][2] politician and lawyer who has served as President of the National Council since October 2024.
Previously, he was a member of the National Council for the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) from 2008 to 2019, when he became one of three national public advocates (Volksanwalt).[3]

Walter Rosenkranz
President of the National Council
Assumed office
24 October 2024
Preceded byWolfgang Sobotka
Parliamentary Ombudsman
In office
1 July 2019 – 23 October 2024
Preceded byPeter Fichtenbauer
Personal details
Born (1962-07-29) 29 July 1962 (age 62)
Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria, Austria
Political partyFreedom Party

Before that, he was parliamentary group leader of the FPÖ in the National Council between 2017 and 2019 and served as leader of the Lower Austrian FPÖ.[4]

On 12 July 2022, the FPÖ selected Rosenkranz as its official candidate for the 2022 Austrian presidential election, to be held on 9 October 2022, but lost to incumbent Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen. He is not related to Barbara Rosenkranz, FPÖ candidate for president in the 2010 Austrian presidential election.

On 24 October 2024, Rosenkranz was elected President of the National Council with a narrow majority.

References

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  1. ^ "A lawmaker from the far-right Freedom Party is elected as speaker of Austria's parliament". The Washington Post. 2024-10-24. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  2. ^ "Austria elects first far-right parliament president". Le Monde. 2024-10-24. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  3. ^ "Drei neue Volksanwälte vom Bundespräsidenten angelobt" (in German). 2 July 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Dr. Walter Rosenkranz". Austrian Parliament. Retrieved 4 December 2016.