an MP of the Austrian National Council. Later years Sinowatz sued the profil journalist Alfred Worm for libel because of reports concerning Sinowatz' internal announcements to reveal Waldheim's past. Even though all top representatives of the Burgenland SPÖ, including Landeshauptmann governor Johann Sipötz, gave testimony in his favor when he denied the accuracy of Ottilie Matysek's (who had by then left the SPÖ) depiction of the events, the court gave more weight to the authenticity of her hand-written notes and dismissed the suit. This also led to Sipötz's resignation and Sinowatz' conviction for giving false evidence in 1991. Sinowatz retired to private life in his Burgenland home. Another indictment in the VÖEST Noricum scandal trial ended with his acquittal in 1993. In July 2008 he had to be taken to the Vienna General Hospital to undergo cardiac surgery. He died two weeks later at the age of 79. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former Austrian chancellor. Bibliography Zeiler, Linda Martina, Was bleibt? Das politische Wirken und Vermächtnis von Dr. Fred Sinowatz (Frankfurt am Main u.a., Peter Lang, 2011) (Beiträge zur Neueren Geschichte Österreichs, 27). See also Politics of Austria Note This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia, as of 21 January 2005. |- 1929 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Chancellors of Austria Austrian people of Croatian descent Chancellors of Austria Vice-Chancellors of Austria People from Eisenstadt-Umgebung District