Unanimously elected

Yannick Shetty becomes the new NEOS club chairman

Yannick Shetty (29) becomes the new club leader of the NEOS.

(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

After Beate Meinl-Reisinger became Foreign Minister, the position of NEOS Club Chairman became vacant. The party has agreed on Yannick Shetty (29), as the "Krone" learned on Thursday afternoon. The promotion comes as a surprise, as the long-time club vice-chair Nikolaus Scherak was the favorite for the post.

However, he decided against the job. As head of the club, Scherak would be subject to a professional ban and would have to stop working as a personnel consultant on the side.

Shetty was unanimously elected as the new club chairman at the party's general assembly on Thursday. The lawyer was most recently the spokesperson for integration, migration, asylum, internal security and teaching in the parliamentary club. He was parliamentary group leader in two committees of inquiry.

"It fills me with pride and great humility that I can continue the path that Beate Meinl-Reisinger has led us on so successfully over the past seven years as the new Club Chairman. Even though the new role entails greater responsibility, the issues of a successful integration policy, the fight against all forms of hatred and extremism - and the commitment to greater equality of opportunity - remain the driving force behind my political actions," said Shetty. He will be supported in his new role by Scherak, Stephanie Krisper, Martina von Künsberg Sarre and Markus Hofer.

New faces in the National Council
The politician first joined the National Council in 2019 as the youngest member of parliament and has been a party member since 2013. He grew up in Innsbruck and studied law in Vienna. Parallel to his job as a member of parliament, he completed his court clerkship. He regularly answers questions about everyday political life in a live format on social media.

Shetty's predecessor Beate Meinl-Reisinger is no longer available for parliament. She and former MP Sepp Schellhorn, who is now State Secretary, will be replaced in the National Council by Carinthian state speaker Janos Juvan and IT employee Ines Holzegger.