Iris Eliisa Rauskala (born 14 March 1978 in Helsinki) is a Finnish-born Austrian civil servant and economist who served as Minister of Education, Science and Research in the Bierlein government.[1]

Iris Rauskala
Rauskala speaking in Vienna, 2019
Minister of Education
In office
3 June 2019 – 7 January 2020
AffiliationIndependent
Preceded byHeinz Faßmann
Succeeded byHeinz Faßmann
Personal details
Born
Iris Eliisa Rauskala

(1978-03-14) 14 March 1978 (age 46)
Helsinki, Finland
EducationUniversity of Innsbruck (Dr.)
Inauguration of Iris Eliisa Rauskala with president Alexander Van der Bellen (2019)

Life and career

edit

The daughter of a Finnish scientist father and an Austrian civil servant mother, Rauskala was born in Helsinki, where she lived until the age of five.[2]

She studied international economics at the University of Innsbruck and completed a doctorate in 2006.[3] Rauskala then joined the civil service in the Ministry of Economy and later the science ministry, working under ministers Johannes Hahn, Beatrix Karl and Karlheinz Töchterle [de]. She taught at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences from 2011 until she was appointed to a highly ranked position in the education ministry in 2015.[4] She is deputy chairperson of the Austrian Science Fund board of supervisors.[1]

On 3 June 2019 she was sworn in as Minister for Education, Science and Research in the interim government of Brigitte Bierlein. She was described as popular and "extremely dynamic".[4]

In 2018, she married a woman and published that fact in an interview briefly after her inauguration. According to her, there were never any negative reactions.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Rauskala, Iris Eliisa". austria-forum.org (in German). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  2. ^ Neuhauser, Julia (4 June 2019). "Bildungsministerin Rauskala: Ein Hauch Finnland für Österreichs Schulen". Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Meet Austria's Minister of Education Iris Eliisa Rauskala". vindobona.org. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b Nimmervoll, Lisa (31 May 2019). "Präsidialsektionschefin Iris Rauskala soll Bildungsministerin werden". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  5. ^ Nimmervoll, Lisa (14 June 2019). "Bildungsministerin Rauskala: "Beamte sind keine gut abgesicherten Nichtstuer"". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
edit