Death

Red Cross mourns the death of President Walter Aichinger

Walter Aichinger, the long-standing President of the Upper Austrian Red Cross, has died.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Bad news reached the staff of the Upper Austrian Red Cross on Tuesday morning. Their President Walter Aichinger died during the night in Wels Hospital after a short, serious illness. Aichinger was 71 years old.

Walter Aichinger had been President of the Upper Austrian Red Cross since November 2011. Prior to that, he had also been Vice President for 13 years. 

Aichinger was born in Wels in 1953. He studied medicine and was Head of the Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology at the Wels-Grieskirchen Clinic until 2018. From 2003 to 2018, he was a member of the Upper Austrian state parliament and from 1993 to 2003, he was also a member of the Upper Austrian state government under LH Josef Pühringer. 

In 2019, Aichinger was awarded the Grand Decoration of Honor of the Province of Upper Austria. He had last lived with his family in Krenglbach near Wels. He died in hospital at 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday following a short, serious bout of cancer.

Great humanist
"We pay tribute to a great humanist and ambassador of humanity. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, relatives, colleagues, friends and companions," said the Presidium and the regional management of the Upper Austrian Red Cross.

Aichinger had led the organization with wise foresight until his death. He valued his fellow human beings and was committed to finding constructive solutions. The well-being of all employees was also a matter close to his heart.