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The German name Österreich can be loosely translated as eastern realm/empire and is derived from the Old German Ostarrichi.
The name Austria is derived fron the Medieval Latin form Marchia austracia, which translates as eastern border, being situated as it was at the eastern edge of the empire of Charlemagne. Interestingly the derivation of the Latin name from the original Old German gives rise to the use of Aust- for 'east', rather than 'south', as in classical Latin.
Main article: History of Austria
After being conquered by the Romans, Huns, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Bavarii and Franks, Austria was under the rule of the Babenbergs from the 10th to the 13th century. The Babenbergs were then succeeded by the Habsburgs, whose line continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.
After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transfomed in 1867 into the double-monarchy Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, leading to Austria as it is today.
In 1918 Austria became a republic, which lasted until 1934 when the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß established a dictatorship.
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 (the Anschluss). After the defeat of the Nazis, the Allies occupied Austria at the end of World War II until 1955, when the country again became a fully independent republic under the condition that it remained neutral (see also: Austrian State Treaty). However, after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, Austria became increasingly involved in European affairs, and in 1995, Austria joined the European Union, and the Euro monetary system in 1999.
Main article: Politics of Austria
The head of state is a president, elected every six years by popular vote. The President chooses the chancellor, traditionally the leader of the largest party in the elections for parliament. The Austrian parliament consists of two chambers, the Bundesrat, which consists of 64 representatives of the states, based on population, and the Nationalrat, which has 183 directly-elected members.
After three decades of social-democratic ( SPÖ) participation in government, a right-wing coalition was formed in 2000, consisting of the conservative People's Party ( ÖVP) and the right-wing Freedom Party ( FPÖ). However, after some turmoil within the FPÖ concerning party policy and leadership, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) announced on September 9, 2002 that general elections would be held prematurely at the end of November. In the elections of November 24, 2002, the ÖVP won a landslide victory (42.3% of the vote), whereas the FPÖ was reduced to a mere 10.1%.
The current Austrian parliament (Nationalrat, 183 seats) is made up as follows:
On February 28, 2003, the coalition between the ÖVP and the FPÖ was continued, again with Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) as Federal Chancellor. His Vice Chancellor was Herbert Haupt (FPÖ) until replaced by Hubert Gorbach (FPÖ) on October 20, 2003. Prior to that, long-lasting "probing talks" ("Sondierungsgespräche") took place between the ÖVP and the other major parties FPÖ, SPÖ and the Green Party.
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