Christian Stocker

Christian Stocker (born 20 March 1960) is an Austrian politician who has served as chancellor of Austria since March 2025. A member of the People's Party (ÖVP), he has been a member of the National Council since 2019 and Chair of the People's Party since 5 January 2025. He had previously served as general secretary of the party from September 2022 to January 2025. On 5 January 2025, he was elected new acting party leader of the People's Party, following the resignation of Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Born and raised in Wiener Neustadt, Stocker, the son of an ÖVP politician, studied law at the University of Vienna. A lifelong member of the ÖVP, he served in various party offices since being elected member of the National Council in 2019. After ruling it out before, Stocker announced the ÖVP's willingness to enter coalition talks with Herbert Kickl and his far-right FPÖ party. Coalition talks between ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS previously failed in the aftermath of the 2024 Austrian legislative election. On 27 February 2025, the SPÖ, ÖVP, and NEOS announced an agreement to form a coalition government to be led by Stocker as chancellor.