Karl Renner

Karl Renner was born 14 December 1870, trained as a jurist, and rose through the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria at a time when empires still seemed permanent. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918, he led the first government of the Republic of German-Austria in 1919 and 1920, earning the label "Father of the Republics." A quarter-century later, after Nazi Germany fell, he was called on again — this time to help establish the Second Republic in 1945. He became its first postwar President, the fourth in Austrian history, and held the office until his death on 31 Decemb…