Alexander Van der Bellen has served as Federal President of Austria since January 2017, following his election in December 2016. Born in Vienna in 1944 and raised in Tyrol, he comes from a family with Estonian and Russian roots that settled in Austria after fleeing Soviet rule. Before assuming the presidency, he had a long political career, serving as a Member of the Austrian National Council from 1994 to 2012, Chairman of the Greens’ Parliamentary Group (1999–2008), and Federal Spokesperson of the Austrian Greens (1997–2008). He later served in the Vienna State Parliament and City Council from 2012 to 2015. An accomplished academic, Van der Bellen was a Full Professor of Economics at the University of Vienna from 1980 to 2009, and previously held positions at the University of Innsbruck and the Berlin Social Science Center. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Vienna. He studied economics at the University of Innsbruck, earning his doctorate in 1970. His contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria.