From son of a tram driver to the Federal President
In the standard, some “celebrities” told how they experienced their youth, what annoyance they had, what they made of it and why they became what they are today. Among others Thomas Klestil.
Thomas Klestil was born on November 4, 1932 in Erdberg. After his studies, which he completed in 1957 with a doctorate in commercial sciences, he entered the Federal Chancellery. Among other things, he was ambassador to Washington. Klestil had been Federal President since 1992 and was elected for a further six years in 1998. On August 6, 2004, Thomas Klestil died two days before the end of his second term.
Thomas Klestil, Federal President: “Don’t let anything interfere”
When I celebrated my 14th birthday in 1946, World War II was only a little over a year over. Vienna was destroyed by bombs and many of my classmates had either lost their belongings or family members. Or both …
… One of my brothers was also killed in the war. For the majority of us children, it wasn’t so much the future that interested us as whether we would get enough flour to bake bread. Severe poverty had gripped large sections of the people in the cities. A “youth club” that was run by a Salesian priest, Friedrich De Bray, offered me support during these difficult times, where children and young people could also learn about a sense of togetherness and social responsibility.
Since my father had already died in 1942, my mother had to take care of us children alone. That impressed me — I was the youngest — and showed me the achievements of self-sacrificing love. Another experience has had a lasting impact on my career: my mother had to put up with a lot of effort when I was sent to high school on Hagenmüllergasse. And there I disturbed the lesson one day — as children are like that. Then the professor asked me what my father’s job was. I replied: “Tramman”. The teacher responded: “Then you’ll become a streetcar driver too, you’ve got no business here at school.”
Perhaps it was then that I made up my mind to take the path I had taken. It is still clear to me today that one should not choose a certain profession out of defiance or anger, but that one certainly does not have to allow oneself to be interfered with if one is convinced of a decision for one’s life. It’s never just about what you do, what matters is how you act. The way someone walks their life path is crucial. And maybe fair play, which is so important for our coexistence, is a secret recipe for a happy life.
We do not live alone, but always in association with other people. But that also means that not only one person can get his way, but that everyone has to find sensible solutions together. I hope and wish that today’s young people can work with commitment on an open and solidary society.
Film about the Salesian Father, Friedrich De Bray, with Thomas Klestil among others.
