"Will remain a role model"
Former Chancellor Bierlein to be buried today
On Friday, Austria bid farewell to former Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, who passed away on June 3. The funeral service for the first female Federal Chancellor and first President of the Constitutional Court began in St. Stephen's Cathedral and ended at Vienna's Central Cemetery, where Bierlein was given an honorary grave.
Bierlein's coffin was liturgically brought into the cathedral at 6.45 a.m. and laid out there. The public was able to bid farewell until 10 am. Hundreds of people took the opportunity to sign the condolence books.
The line next to the coffin, which was draped in an Austrian flag, was made up of an equal number of representatives from civil society and state organizations that shaped Bierlein's life: the grammar school in Kundmanngasse, the law school at the University of Vienna, the Constitutional Court, the Federal Chancellery, the Bundestheater Holding and the women's initiative LEA - Let's Empower Austria, as well as the Austrian Armed Forces and the police.
The requiem for Bierlein, who died unexpectedly eleven days ago, was conducted by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. The intercessions at the funeral service were read out by long-time friends of the deceased.
Schönborn paid tribute to Bierlein's achievements
In his sermon, Schönborn once again paid tribute to Bierlein's services to Austria. Talking about her meant "talking about law, justice and the rule of law". She had embodied and embodied these words in an outstanding way, said the Cardinal. Her service for and to Austria should serve as a role model for political cooperation, said Schönborn, also alluding to the upcoming election campaign.
Head of state at the funeral service
The funeral services were attended by the entire head of state. Her personality was comprehensively honored during a requiem in St. Stephen's Cathedral. Interested, competent, courageous, sociable, elegant and dialog-oriented were just some of the qualities attributed to her in the speeches by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
Her successor, Christoph Grabenwarter, was visibly moved to call her not only a lawyer, but also a connector in both professional and personal contacts: "Brigitte Bierlein had style." She also had a keen sense of aesthetics and not just in her appearance - a good sense of the right manners: "She was a sociable person in the best sense of the word."
In his speech, Federal President Van der Bellen recalled that Bierlein had accepted his invitation to lead the country to a new election as Chancellor in the difficult times following the emergence of the Ibiza video. She had taken on this task as a "courageous woman" and quickly calmed the situation in Austria.
Van der Bellen: "She will always remain a role model for us"
Bierlein stands for brains and heart, self-confidence and self-criticism, strength and composure as well as expertise and empathy, said Van der Bellen. He hoped that Bierlein had been aware of how she had inspired others: "She will always remain a role model for many women and girls and for all of us."
As our country's first female chancellor, Brigitte Bierlein has above all shown courage and encouraged us all to seize opportunities. She said yes when it came to taking responsibility and thus made history - paving a path that gives hope and courage to many after her.
Kanzler Karl Nehammer
"Dialogue not only lived, but also sought"
Chancellor Nehammer not only paid a rhetorical tribute to Bierlein's life's work. She had exercised her office as head of government with elegance, determination and courage that was second to none. She had been a "citizen of the world, but also a true Viennese" and had a heart for equal rights and freedom of choice for women. Bierlein met everyone with an open mind: "She not only lived the dialog, but also sought it."
The Federal Government was seated in the ranks of the cathedral, as were former Federal President Heinz Fischer, former Chancellors Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) and Christian Kern (SPÖ), National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), Governor of Lower Austria Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig (SPÖ), Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens), top politicians from all parties and prominent figures from the judiciary.
Grave of honor at Vienna Central Cemetery
At the end of the solemn requiem, the coffin of the deceased was carried out of the church through the giant gate onto St. Stephen's Square, where a military band played the national anthem. Numerous onlookers - including many tourists - watched the solemn farewell of the hearse in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral.
The coffin was then taken to Vienna's Central Cemetery with a police escort. The solemn burial there - also in the presence of the head of state - lasted half an hour. The ceremony was presided over by one of the former Chancellor's assistants, the parish priest of Ober St. Veit, Stefan Reuffurth. The previously feared crowd did not materialize.
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