Portrait
Johanna Dohnal
Born
14 February 1939Vienna, Austria
Died
20 February 2010Grabern, Austria · aged 71
Politician, Austria’s first Minister for WomenAustria

Johanna Dohnal

Austria’s first minister for women fought for equality for decades – and registered her partnership with a woman shortly before her death.

Johanna Dohnal grew up in poor circumstances in Vienna, raised mainly by her grandmother. She left school early, worked as an industrial clerk and joined the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ).

In 1979 Chancellor Bruno Kreisky made her state secretary for women’s affairs, and in 1990 she became Austria’s first Minister for Women. She fought for equal pay, for women’s shelters and for laws against violence against women, against sexual harassment and for equal treatment at work. Her confrontational style made her many enemies, and in 1995 she was dismissed from the government.

She remained a symbol of Austrian feminism. For many years she lived with her partner Annemarie Aufreiter. When registered partnerships for same-sex couples became possible in Austria at the beginning of 2010, the two registered their partnership.

Johanna Dohnal died a few weeks later, in February 2010, aged 71.

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