Herbert Kickl

Herbert Kickl (born 19 October 1968) is an Austrian politician who has been leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) since June 2021. He previously served as minister of the interior from 2017 to 2019 and general-secretary of the FPÖ from 2005 to 2018. In the 2024 Austrian legislative election, the FPÖ became Austria's strongest party for the first time in history. Kickl negotiated with the Austrian People's Party in early 2025 but was unable to form a government. He is the leader of the opposition in the National Council. Kickl advocates a Fortress Austria and remigration. Some political analysts believe he has radicalized his party. Kickl rose to prominence as a campaign director for the FPÖ and speechwriter for Jörg Haider during the 2000s. After the party split in 2005, he became general-secretary and one of its key leaders. In 2017, he was appointed federal Minister for the Interior in the first Kurz government. In February 2018, he ordered a controversial raid on the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism, seizing their data on right-wing extremist groups including the new right Identitarian Movement of Austria close to the FPÖ. He was dismissed from office in May 2019 in the wake of the Ibiza affair, though he was not personally implicated. He returned to the National Council, where he has been leader of the FPÖ faction since 2019.