Hans Jörg Schelling
Minister of Finance
In office
1 September 2014 – 18 December 2017
ChancellorWerner Faymann
Christian Kern
Preceded byMichael Spindelegger
Succeeded byHartwig Löger
Personal details
Born (1953-12-27) 27 December 1953
Hohenems, Austria
Political partyPeople's Party
Alma materJohannes Kepler University

Hans Jörg Schelling (born 27 December 1953 in Hohenems, Vorarlberg as Johann Georg Schelling) is an Austrian entrepreneur and politician of the Austrian People's Party and who served as Minister of Finance of Austria in the governments of chancellors Werner Faymann and Christian Kern.[1]

Early career

A native of Vorarlberg in western Austria, Schelling was a millionaire management consultant before entering politics. Over the course of his career, he made a fortune by building two separate home-furnishing chains into market leaders.[2]

Political career

During his time in office as Minister of Finance, Schelling was in charge of managing the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. In 2016, he closed FIMBAG, the agency it set up in 2008 during the crisis to oversee state aid granted to troubled lenders.[3] He successfully pushed through legislation paving the way for the government to reach settlements with the creditors of defunct bank Hypo Alpe Adria and remove a millstone from the country's public finances.[4]

Under Schelling's leadership, Austria asked France in 2015 to hand over tax data linked to leaked client data of multinational banking and financial services company HSBC which had admitted failings in compliance at its Swiss private bank.[5] He also supported state-owned utility OMV in its negotiations on an asset swap with Gazprom and in 2016 took part in the ceremony, in which OMV agreed to exchange a stake in its Norwegian business for a stake in the Russian group’s Achimov oil and gas exploration blocks; the deal was later abandoned due to opposition from Norway.[6]

From 2015, Schelling chaired the group of EU Member States that want to adopt a common tax on financial transactions.[7]

Life after politics

In 2019, Schelling was nominated to serve as a member of the supervisory board at OMV;[8] shortly after, the nomination was withdrawn due to a potential breach of the Austrian government’s rules on a cooling-off period for former ministers.[9]

Other activities

Corporate boards

  • Österreichische Volksbanken-Aktiengesellschaft (ÖVAG), Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2012–2014)[10]
  • Nord Stream 2, Adviser (2018–present)[11]

Regulatory bodies

Non-profit organizations

  • Federation of Social Insurance Providers, Chairman of the Board (2009–2014

Personal life

Schelling is married and has two daughters. He is a collector of modern art and enjoys spending time on Stiftsweingut Herzogenburg, the vineyard he operates in his adopted province of Lower Austria.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Lundeen, Nicole (August 31, 2014). "Hans Jörg Schelling Chosen as Austria's Next Finance Minister". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ Michael Shields (July 7, 2015), Furniture magnate Schelling steers Austrian finance overhaul Reuters.
  3. ↑ Michael Shields (November 3, 2015), Austria to close agency overseeing state aid to banks Reuters.
  4. ↑ Francois Murphy (October 15, 2015), Austria passes law paving way for Heta settlement Reuters.
  5. ↑ Shadia Nasralla (February 26, 2015), France will hand Austria HSBC tax data within days Reuters.
  6. ↑ Kirsti Knolle (April 18, 2019), Austria's ex-finance minister nominated for OMV supervisory board Reuters.
  7. ↑ Francesco Guarascio (June 14, 2016), EU finance ministers to hold 'last-chance' talks on transactions tax Reuters.
  8. ↑ Kirsti Knolle (April 18, 2019), Austria's ex-finance minister nominated for OMV supervisory board Reuters.
  9. ↑ Trend, May 8, 2019.
  10. ↑ Board of Governors: Hans Jörg Schelling European Stability Mechanism.
  11. ↑ "Hans Jörg Schelling wird Nord-Stream-Berater: Österreichs Ex-Finanzminister stellt sich in den Dienst von Gazprom".
  12. ↑ AfDB Annual Report 2016 African Development Bank (AfDB).
  13. ↑ Board of Governors Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
  14. ↑ Board of Governors European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
  15. ↑ Board of Governors European Investment Bank (EIB).
  16. ↑ Board of Governors: Hans Jörg Schelling European Stability Mechanism.
  17. ↑ Board of Governors Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group.
  18. ↑ Board of Governors World Bank.
  19. ↑ Michael Shields (July 7, 2015), Furniture magnate Schelling steers Austrian finance overhaul Reuters.
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