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Johannes " Hannes" Androsch (; 18 April 1938 – 11 December 2024) was an Austrian businessman, consultant and Social Democrat politician. He served as an Austrian Finance Minister from 1970 to 1981, and as Vice Chancellor from 1976 to 1981. As a banker, from 1981 to 1988 he was the general director of the Creditanstalt (Austria’s leading bank at that time), and subsequently an advisor to the World Bank. From 1989 onward he built an industrial investment group, Androsch International Consulting (AIC), which is a major factor in Austria's internationally active corporate landscape. In addition, Androsch's foundation is an important sponsor of research and development activities in Austria, where he was regularly consulted on matters of political, economic and financial importance.
His political activities manifested early, and took him to the top position in the Vienna branch of the student organization of the Socialist party (1960–1961), and then to leadership of the national organization (1962–1963). Thereafter, at the age of only 25 years, he became secretary for economic issues in the club of the Socialist members of parliament, a position which he held until 1966.
On 1 October 1976, Androsch was made Vice-Chancellor of Austria while remaining minister of finance. In this capacity he became chairman of the OECD at ministerial level in 1979, and also served as chairman of the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund.
While Androsch had built an excellent political network within the centrist wing of the Socialist party and especially the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB), not everybody was happy with his rapid rise. The fact that the Austrian print media, who for the most part venerated Kreisky and had adorned him with the nickname "Sun King," started to refer to Androsch as the "Crown Prince" did not help. When in 1975 Androsch differed with Kreisky on how to handle the reconfiguration of Austria's state-owned industry, and expressed his wish to become president of the national bank instead of continuing in the government, Kreisky himself became suspicious of the young man he had mentored for years. He started to take exception to a highly problematic incompatibility that had been public knowledge since Androsch became a member of the government: he still owned the tax advisor company (renamed Consultatio in 1970) which he had taken over from his parents, although he had placed it in escrow when he became a finance minister.
Towards the end of 1980, after long and intense campaigns by Austria's media and a continued deterioration of his relationship with Kreisky, Androsch resigned from his political positions on 20 January 1981.
A central point of Androsch's defence concerning his personal finances — he claimed that a rich "uncle-by-choice" ("Wahlonkel" in German) had provided him with significant funds, and habitually replied "alas, no" when asked if he was a millionaire — did not hold. On 8 October 1991 Androsch was convicted by the Vienna Regional Criminal Court of having evaded taxes between 1974 and 1983 in the amount of about five million Austrian schillings (roughly corresponding to €500,000 expressed in 2010 currency), a minuscule fraction of the original allegations. He was sentenced to a fine of 1.8 million Austrian schillings.
A legally separate but politically related affair (a conviction for false testimony to the parliamentary examination board investigating the scandal surrounding the Vienna General Hospital) forced Androsch to resign from the Creditanstalt post in January 1988. With the help of a Swiss member of the Bilderberg Group, Androschs Lebensbilanz Interview published in NEWS No. 15/2008 (see p. 63) he became a consultant to the World Bank, especially for China and parts of Africa, until 1989. Androsch was a onetime member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.
By way of AIC, Androsch was co-owner and president of the supervisory board of the following Austrian companies:
Former investments of Androsch's holdings included major stakes in Future Advanced Composite Components (FACC) AG in Ried im Innkreis (acquired by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation in 2009) and in KTM Sportmotorcycle AG. In 2000, he was a major founding investor of Austrian prepaid payment method paysafecard, until it was finally sold to British Skrill group for €140 million in 2014.
Androsch was also president of the supervisory board of the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT; formerly Austrian Research Centers, ARC) in Seibersdorf, a position in which he was succeeded by Peter Schwab. He was deputy chairman of the supervisory board of FIMBAG Finanzmarktbeteiligung AG, FIMBAG company information Archived the vehicle through which the state-owned Österreichische Industrieholding controls its stakes in Austrian banking system. He was once chairman of the Council of the University of Leoben.
Following the collapse of Refco, a class-action lawsuitsuit in the US caused considerable difficulties for BAWAG P.S.K., the Austrian trade union's bank. Androsch and other Austrian investors formed a consortium with Cerberus Capital Management, which acquired the bank in 2006. BAWAG P.S.K. Company History (2005-2008) Archived
In 2006 the Austrian economics magazine trend estimated Androsch's wealth at €420 million, ranking him 25th among the wealthiest Austrians. Die reichsten Österreicher Ranking of the wealthiest Austrians in 2006 by trend magazine Archived Using a modified rating that also considered networking, the magazine ranked him the 22nd most powerful person in Austria's economy in 2009.Die 100 Mächtigsten in der Wirtschaft. trend 7/2009, p. 53
Androsch was a member of the fundraising committee of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, IMBA fundraising committee website Archived a joint initiative of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.
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