Seipel, Ignaz

Seipel, Ignaz ĭgˈnäts zīˈpəl [key], 1876–1932, Austrian chancellor (1922–24, 1926–29). A Roman Catholic priest, he was elected to the Austrian parliament in 1919 and became leader (1921–29) of the Christian Socialist party. As chancellor he did much to stabilize finances by introducing stringent economies and securing an international loan guaranteed by the League of Nations. His criticism of parliamentary democracy and his support of the Heimwehr, the Austrian fascistic militia, are thought to have paved the way for the quasidictatorial rule of Dollfuss and Schuschnigg.

See biography by K. von Klemperer (1972).

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