Brigitte Bierlein, who became Austria’s first female chancellor in 2019, died on Monday aged 74.
“Bierlein’s untimely death shocks me deeply. Her life’s work is and remains as unique as it is highly impressive,” said current Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in a statement.
“For future generations she will remain a shining example of self-determination, equality and breaking through glass ceilings,” he wrote. “Our Republic mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished lawyers, most dutiful civil servants and most influential daughters — a great Austrian.”
Her death came as a result of a short, serious illness, Austria’s constitutional court reported.
Bierlein, who led Austria from from June 3, 2019 until Jan. 7, 2020, succeeded Chancellor Sebastian Kurz who was ousted after losing a confidence vote following days of political turmoil triggered by the “Ibiza affair.”
Prior to her appointment as chancellor, Bierlein held the post of deputy president of Austria’s constitutional court between 2003 and 2018 and was its president from February 2018.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said in a statement that Bierlein “served the Republic faithfully in many roles.”
“I got to know Brigitte Bierlein as a courageous, disciplined woman who took on responsibility when her country needed her. She will continue to be a role model for many girls and women, for all of us, in the future,” he added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply saddened” by Bierlein’s death in a post on X. “She led her country through turbulent times with competence and responsibility. A civil servant in the best sense of the word,” she said.
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