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Directorate General for Public Security AI simulator
(@Directorate General for Public Security_simulator)
Hub AI
Directorate General for Public Security AI simulator
(@Directorate General for Public Security_simulator)
Directorate General for Public Security
The Directorate General for Public Security (Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit, "GD" or "GDföS") is the governing body of general law enforcement in Austria and a division of the Ministry of the Interior. It oversees the
The Directorate General is headquartered in the Palais Modena, Vienna.
The Directorate General was first established in 1930 as a division of the Chancellery. After the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Heinrich Himmler ordered the organization's dissolution. The Directorate General was restored following the end of Nazi rule, but did not gain back control of most police forces until the Transition of Authorities Act 1945, when the authorities, offices and other institutions of the German Reich in Austria were dissolved and the Austrian authorities re-established.
On March 31, 2019, Director General Michaela Kardeis resigned from her position. Reinhard Schnakl took over the position on an interim basis after the actual deputy Franz Lang (former Director of the Criminal Intelligence Service Austria) went on a sick leave.
Ensuing the Ibiza affair in 2019, Interior Minister Herbert Kickl moved to appoint Peter Goldgruber, with whom he had close ties, Director General on 20 May. The affair marked the likely collapse of the Cabinet and as the Director General is a career civil servant position that transcends political leadership changes, appointing Goldgruber would have allowed Kickl and his party to retain control over law enforcement while no longer being in power themselves. However, Goldgruber's appointment required presidential confirmation (otherwise he would only hold the position's powers and duties but not the position itself) but President Van der Bellen declined to approve the appointment. On 22 May, Van der Bellen removed Kickl from office on the request of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Kickl's successor Eckart Ratz dismissed Goldgruber a few days later.
On July 1, 2020, Franz Ruf was inaugurated as the new Director General. He still holds this office today (June 2025).
The Federal Police is the primary civilian law enforcement agency of Austria, responsible for ordinary policing and border control. It succeeded the Gendarmerie, the Guard Corps, the Detective Corps, and the urban police forces in 2005.
In November 2021, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that, as part of a major reform of the central office of the Ministry of the Interior, a further group is to be set up in the Directorate General for Public Security called the Federal Police Directorate (Austrian German: Bundespolizeidirektion, BPD). However, this is not planned as a new management level above the provincial police directorates, but as a contact point for them. Due to the reform, the Federal Police has been a separate organizational unit since Juli 2022.
Directorate General for Public Security
The Directorate General for Public Security (Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit, "GD" or "GDföS") is the governing body of general law enforcement in Austria and a division of the Ministry of the Interior. It oversees the
The Directorate General is headquartered in the Palais Modena, Vienna.
The Directorate General was first established in 1930 as a division of the Chancellery. After the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Heinrich Himmler ordered the organization's dissolution. The Directorate General was restored following the end of Nazi rule, but did not gain back control of most police forces until the Transition of Authorities Act 1945, when the authorities, offices and other institutions of the German Reich in Austria were dissolved and the Austrian authorities re-established.
On March 31, 2019, Director General Michaela Kardeis resigned from her position. Reinhard Schnakl took over the position on an interim basis after the actual deputy Franz Lang (former Director of the Criminal Intelligence Service Austria) went on a sick leave.
Ensuing the Ibiza affair in 2019, Interior Minister Herbert Kickl moved to appoint Peter Goldgruber, with whom he had close ties, Director General on 20 May. The affair marked the likely collapse of the Cabinet and as the Director General is a career civil servant position that transcends political leadership changes, appointing Goldgruber would have allowed Kickl and his party to retain control over law enforcement while no longer being in power themselves. However, Goldgruber's appointment required presidential confirmation (otherwise he would only hold the position's powers and duties but not the position itself) but President Van der Bellen declined to approve the appointment. On 22 May, Van der Bellen removed Kickl from office on the request of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Kickl's successor Eckart Ratz dismissed Goldgruber a few days later.
On July 1, 2020, Franz Ruf was inaugurated as the new Director General. He still holds this office today (June 2025).
The Federal Police is the primary civilian law enforcement agency of Austria, responsible for ordinary policing and border control. It succeeded the Gendarmerie, the Guard Corps, the Detective Corps, and the urban police forces in 2005.
In November 2021, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that, as part of a major reform of the central office of the Ministry of the Interior, a further group is to be set up in the Directorate General for Public Security called the Federal Police Directorate (Austrian German: Bundespolizeidirektion, BPD). However, this is not planned as a new management level above the provincial police directorates, but as a contact point for them. Due to the reform, the Federal Police has been a separate organizational unit since Juli 2022.