Adolf Schärf


Schärf, Adolf

 

Born Apr. 20, 1890, in Nikolsburg, now Mikulov, Czechoslovakia; died Feb. 28, 1965, in Vienna. Austrian state figure; a jurist by education.

Schärf joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria in 1912. He served in the army during World War I, and when the war ended, he entered government service. His participation in the social democratic movement resulted in his arrest in 1934, 1938, and 1944. After the liberation of Austria in April 1945, Schärf served as secretary of state in the Provisional Government of Austria from April to December 1945. In the same year he helped organize the Socialist Party of Austria (SPA). From December 1945 to May 1957 he was both vice-chancellor of Austria and chairman of the SPA. Schärf became president of the Austrian republic in 1957.