Social Democratic Party of Austria: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Social Democratic Party of Austria (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) is a political party in Austria. It was united in 1889 as Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs (SDAPÖ) and is one of the major parties in Austria. It was fairly successful in the 1920s, but its members were persecuted by right-wingers in the early 1930s. During the German occupation of Austria between 1938 and 1945, the SPO was banned and persecuted heavily, but after liberation, the Social Democrats became a major political force in post-war Austria.

Currently, it holds the presidency of Austria under Heinz Fischer, and has 69 seats in the Nationalrat and 23 seats in the Bundesrat, making it the second largest party in Austria. It has 9 seats in the European Parliament, the largest party for Austria in the European Parliament.

It is a member of the Party of European Socialists in the European Parliament.

Party chairmen (Parteivorsitzende) since the founding of the Second Republic (1945):

• Adolf Schärf (1945-1957)
• Bruno Pittermann (1957-1967)
• Bruno Kreisky (1967-1983)
• Fred Sinowatz (1983-1988)
• Franz Vranitzky (1988-1997)
• Viktor Klima (1997-2000)
• Alfred Gusenbauer (2000- )