Petra Bayr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Petra Bayr | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bayr in April 2014 | |
| President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe | |
| Assumed office 26 January 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Theodoros Roussopoulos |
| Member of the National Council | |
| Assumed office 20 December 2002 | |
| Constituency | Vienna South |
| Member of the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna | |
| In office 29 November 1996 – 19 December 2002 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 April 1968 Vienna, Austria |
| Party | Social Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | petrabayr |
Petra Bayr (born 28 April 1968), also known as Penny Bayr, is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) who has been serving as a member of the National Council since 2022, representing the Vienna South district.[1]
Earlier in her career, Bayr was a member of the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna from November 1996 to December 2002.[2]
Bayr was born on 28 April 1968 in Vienna.[1] She was editor of her school newspaper.[1] She studied sociology and education at the University of Vienna and University of Graz.[1] She has a Master of Arts degree in human rights and a Master of Legal Studies degree from the Danube University Krems.[1][3]
Early career
Bayr worked as a freelancer at ORF, Ö3, Radio Wien and various youth magazines from 1984 to 1985.[1][3] She was a trainer in youth work (1986–1996), a Parliamentary employee (1994–1996) and a clerk at the Österreichische Industrieverwaltungs (ÖIAG) (1994–1997).[1] She worked for EGA - Frauenzentrum from 1997 to 2001.[1] She worked for the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ)'s Vienna branch from 2001 to 2022 - in public relations (2001–2009) and for the networking, anti-racism and international affairs department (2009–2022).[1]
Bayr was active in the Union of Private Sector Employees (GPA)'s youth department from 1984 to 1997 and women's department from 1985 to 2002.[3]
Political career
Career in local politics
Bayr has been active with the SPÖ in Favoriten since 1986.[3] She has held various positions in the Viennese branch of the SPÖ and its youth wing Junge Generation.[1][3] Bayr was chair of the women's committee of the Austrian Federal Youth Council (BJV) from 1990 to 1992.[3]
Bayr was a member of the district council (Bezirksvertretung) in Favoriten from 1994 to 1996.[1] She was a member of the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna from November 1996 to December 2002.[2]
Member of the National Council, 2002–present
Bayr was elected to the National Council at the 2002 legislative election.[1][2] In parliament,
In addition to her committee assignments, Bayr was also a member of the Austrian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union from 2012 to 2021.[3]
Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 2018–present
Since 2018, Bayr has been part of the Austrian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[1][4] Within the Assembly, she has chaired the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights since 2024.[5] She led the Assembly's observer mission to the February 2025 Kosovan parliamentary election.[6]
Since 2026, Bayr has been serving as the Assembly's president, making her the third Austrian national holding that office since 1949, after Peter Schieder (2002-2005) and Karl Czernetz (1975-1978).[7]
Other activities
- International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Member of the Strategy, Investment and Policy Committee (since 2020)[8]