Seipel, Ignaz (1876–1932)

Austrian statesman. A Catholic priest and professor of theology, he became minister of welfare in the last Cabinet before the collapse of old Austria in October 1918. From 1921 he led the Christian Socialists, the largest party in the new Austrian parliament, becoming chancellor the following year, and helping the republic to a period of reasonable stability. Surviving an assassination attempt in 1924, he resumed the premiership in 1926 and held it until 1929. Austria's strong man in the 1920s, Seipel nevertheless failed to consolidate its political institutions. He so mistrusted the Social Democrats that he encouraged the paramilitary forces of the Right, especially the Heimwehr, and toyed with the idea of an Anschluss with Germany. Seipel was born in Vienna, Austria.