Former Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister, head of Creditanstalt Bankverein, industrialist, entrepreneur and global investor Dr. Hannes Androsch received an honorary doctorate in economics from the University of New Orleans during the celebration of spring commencement in May.

Born in 1938 in Vienna, Dr. Androsch studied Economics and Business Administration at the University of Vienna, receiving a PhD in 1969. As a distinguished Austrian and European public servant of the post-World War II era, he was appointed Minister of Finance at the age of thirty-two by Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky. He held the post for eleven years (1970-1981), serving five years as Vice-Chancellor (1976-1981). He was appointed general director of Austria’s largest bank, Creditanstalt-Bankverein, and served as a consultant to the World Bank. In 1989 he founded Androsch International Management Consulting (AIC) and then became an industrialist in 1990s.

Dear Readers of “Austrian Information,”

It is a privilege for me to have been appointed as new Austrian Ambassador to the United States of America, and it is an honor to serve my country in this capacity in the coming years. I have spent eleven years of my professional life in the United States, having served at the Austrian Embassy from 1981 to 1988 and as Austrian Consul General in Los Angeles from 1991 to 1995.

by Hans Kordik

Environmental protection is globally a growing market and increasingly contributes to creating new jobs. This has been recognized by the United States of America as the new administration under President Obama has put climate change next to health reform on top of their agenda. Besides the creation of green jobs and improving energy efficiency in buildings and transport, the wish has been expressed to become energy independent by promoting clean energy sources.

Dietrich W. Botsiber (1912-2002)

During his lifetime, Austrian aeronautical engineer and philanthropist Dietrich W. Botstiber established a charitable fund, the Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation. Among other goals it was established primarily to promote an understanding of the historic relationship between the United States and Austria. In 2007, the Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies was founded to support Austrian-American studies through historical research.

This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the founding of SOS Children’s Villages. Since 1949, SOS has grown to become the largest charity in the world dedicated to children in need and providing families and homes for orphaned and abandoned children. Founded by Austrian Hermann Gmeiner in the years following World War II, its original mission was to care for children whose families had been killed during the war. Today, SOS Children’s Villages International cares for more than 80,000 children who have become orphans for a variety of reasons. HIV/AIDS, drugs, natural disasters, civil war, or massive breaches of children’s rights, such as child trafficking, has made  the mission of SOS all the more important in the 21st century.

The life and works of Austrian artist Lily Spandorf was celebrated with a special exhibition at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. For over thirty years she has  captured the essence of Washington in watercolors and gouache. Fifty-four paintings document the urban landscape of old Washington, D.C. and its historical buildings, many of which have been lost through modern real estate development which began in the 1960s. By juxtaposing views of these buildings with Spandorf’s visual depiction of the sites, the exhibit clearly reveals how urbanization has changed the face of Washington.

Austrian native Lily Spandorf was born in 1919 and was an honors graduate of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. In 1938 she left Vienna for London where she spent twenty-one years from 1938-1959. During those years she studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and worked as an artist and author before traveling to Italy where her work in watercolor and gouache met with wide acclaim.  In 1959 she came to New York where impressionistic works were very popular, but she felt the city was too vast and too hectic and in 1960 she came to Washington. She was captivated by the city’s charm and beauty and immediately met with artistic success. With her paintings and other artistic endeavors she soon became “something of a Washington trademark,” as the Washington Post reported on February 7, 2000.

Despite challenging economic times, Austrian plastics companies showed a strong presence at the National Plastics Exposition NPE 2009 held in Chicago in June. At the Austrian Pavilion fourteen companies presented their products and innovative technologies ranging from recycling plants, shredders, injection molds, processing machinery, extrusion tools, plastic sheets and films to measuring devices. In addition,  three companies were represented at the Austrian Trade Commission information desk as part of a catalog exhibit. Throughout McCormick Place, there was an Austrian company on almost every corner. Austria was one of only ten countries with a group exhibit.