Following the resignation of Mr Pröll, Dr. Maria Fekter was appointed Federal Minister of Finance on 21 April 2011. She also becomes EIB Governor for the Republic of Austria.
Born in 1956 in Attnang-Puchheim, Upper Austria, Dr. Maria Fekter holds a M.A. in Business Administration and a PhD in Legal Studies from Linz University.
Before being appointed Federal Minister of Finance, she served as the Federal Minister of the Interior from July 2008 to April 2011, and before that as Ombudsman, responsible inter alia for taxation and administration of justice from 2007 to 2008.
She was a Member of the Austrian Parliament in 1990 and from 1994 to 2007. From 1990 to 1994, she was Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economy.
Besides her political career, Dr. Fekter was active in the management of the family gravel and concrete company between 1986 and 2007.