The Chairman

The Chairman of the Austrian Convention is Dr. Franz Fiedler (President of the Austrian Court of Audit). He has two vice-chairpersons: Dr. Heinz Fischer, the Second President of the National Council, and Angela Orthner, the First President of the Upper Austrian Provincial Parliament. The Chairman and his vice-chairpersons were appointed by the Founding Committee:

The Chairman fulfils the following tasks:

·           He prepares the agenda for the meetings of the Praesidium.

·           He convenes the Praesidium.

·           He arranges the meetings of the Austrian Convention.

·           He chairs all meetings of the Praesidium and of the Austrian Convention.

·           If members send representatives to the meetings, the Chairman has to be notified of these representatives at the beginning of the meeting.

·           Based on the principle of balance, he decides on the sequence of the speakers in the Convention.

·           The speakers’ time is restricted to five minutes, unless the Chairman allots them more time for speaking.

·           During the debate, he strives for a consensus.

·           After debate in the Praesidium, he writes a summary of significant opinions of the Convention’s members.

·           He is obliged to make the results of the debates in the working groups and the result of the Convention publicly available.

·           He heads the Secretariat of the Austrian Convention supported by the Secretary-General.

The Chairman can be represented by one or both vice-chairpersons in the meetings of the Praesidium and of the Convention.