Heinz-Christian Strache

Heinz-Christian Strache (Austrian German: [haɪnts ˈkrɪsti̯a(ː)n ˈʃtraxɛ]; born 12 June 1969) is an Austrian politician and dental technician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2017 to 2019 before resigning owing to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. He was also Minister of Civil Service and Sports from January 2018 to May 2019 and chairman of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) from April 2005 to May 2019. He previously served as a member of the National Council from October 2006 until December 2017 and as a member of the municipal council and state legislature of Vienna (2001–2006). In May 2019, footage from 2017 was released showing Strache suggesting he could offer business contracts in exchange for political support from a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch. The video also shows his ideas about turning the country's largest-circulation tabloid, the Kronen Zeitung, into a mouthpiece of the FPÖ. On 18 May 2019, in the wake of the Ibiza affair, Strache announced his resignation as vice-chancellor of Austria, minister, and chairman of the Freedom Party. On 1 October 2019, Strache announced that he was retiring from politics and suspending his membership in the Freedom Party. Despite his vow to retire from politics, Strache joined the then-regional Alliance for Austria (DAÖ) party in February 2020, and became its chairman on 14 May, and stated that the party would run in the 2020 elections for the Gemeinderat and Landtag of Vienna. The Oberpullendorf District branch of the FPÖ switched its affiliation to that of the DAÖ in April, and some other branches were considering similar moves, meaning the party was de facto operating on a national level thereafter.