Werner Kogler
Werner Kogler is an Austrian politician currently serving as Vice-Chancellor of Austria, as well as being the minister for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport since 7 January 2020. He is the federal spokesman of the Green Party since October 2017.
Kogler was born in the small east Styrian town of Hartberg. He took his A-levels in 1980 and subsequently studied economics and law at the University of Graz. He graduated in economics in 1994. In the early 1980s he became one of the founders of the state Green Party in Styria. His active political career began as an Member of Municipality in Graz in 1985. In the following decades he served the Greens in various positions, including as a member of the federal executive board, and as a representative for the Styrian Greens in 2010. In 2019 he led the Greens back into the Austrian parliament as their federal spokesperson and achieved their biggest election victory in the party’s history, merely two years after their defeat in 2017 where the Greens were unable to enter parliament. From 2019 to 2020, Kogler led coalition negotiations with the Austrian People’s Party and with former chancellor Sebastian Kurz. On 7 January 2020, he became the new vice chancellor of Austria.
