Franz Schausberger

Schausberger was born in Steyr, Upper Austria, as son of Franz and Hermine Schausberger. He attended the Gymnasium, where he took his Matura exams in 1968 with distinction. He went on to study at the University of Salzburg, receiving a Doctorate in Philosophy in 1973.

During studies he was chairman of Austrian Students' Association at the University of Salzburg. From 1971 to 1979 Schausberger was Parliamentary Party Secretary of ÖVP in the Landtag (regional parliament) of Salzburg.

Schausberger is married to Heidi Schausberger-Strobl since 1988 and has three children (Martina, Maximilian and Alexander).

From 1976 to 1980 Schausberger was president of the youth organisation of ÖVP Salzburg and was member of the Landtag of Salzburg from 1979 to 1996. From 1979 to 1989 he was General Secretary of ÖVP Salzburg. Between 1989 and 1996 he was chairman of the parliamentary group of ÖVP in the Landtag of Salzburg.

During the years as Landeshauptmann of Salzburg, from 1996 to 2004, he initiated among others

• the construction of the football stadium Salzburg-Kleßheim,
• the construction of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg on the Mönchsberg,
• the reconstruction of the Kleines Festspielhaus (House for Mozart)
• the construction of the Museum Carolino Augusteum at the Mozartplatz and
• the foundation of the Paracelsus Private Medical University of Salzburg.

In negotiations between 1997 and 2001 Schausberger was able to reach the financial assurance of the responsible ministries for

• the modification of the Mozarteum University Salzburg as well as for
• the construction of the university campus Unipark Nonntal.

After ÖVP’s loss of relative majority at the regional elections in 2004 Schausberger resigned from all political offices in Salzburg. His successor as Landeshauptmann was Gabriele Burgstaller (SPÖ).

Since 1996 Schausberger is the representative of Land Salzburg to the Committee of the Regions (CoR) of the European Union. From 2004 to 2006 he was chairman of the CoR’s Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance, since January 2006 he is Vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP) in the CoR. He has chaired the CoR's Western Balkans Working Group for several years. In October 2016 he was appointed Special Adviser for EU enlargement, in particular for the Balkans and Ukraine by the European Commission.

Since July 2020, Schausberger has been serving as a special advisor on education in emergencies, migration and inclusion to European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn.^[1]