Helga Rabl-Stadler
Helga Rabl-Stadler is an Austrian journalist, businesswoman and politician. From 1995 to 2021 she served as president of the Salzburg Festival.
Life
Helga Rabl-Stadler was the daughter of journalist Gerd Bacher and Rosl Resmann, who came from a family that ran a traditional costume shop in Salzburg. Her mother married a sawmill owner named Stadler, whose name she received. It wasn't until she was 21 that she learned who her real father was. She then developed a good relationship with him. Her father became editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Express and lateron of the daily Kurier. For three 4-yr-periods he served as General Manager of the ORF, the Austrian state-owned radio and television channels.She studied law, journalism, and political science and received her doctorate in law in 1970. She worked as a journalist for the Presse and the Wochenpresse until 1974. From 1974 to 1978, she was the first female journalist to write a domestic politics column for the Kurier. She married journalist Peter Rabl, also editor-in chief of Kurier. The couple had two sons, Maximilian und Sebastian.
From 1983 to 2008, she was co-owner of her family business, Resmann fashion house in Salzburg. From 1983 to 1990 and again briefly from November 7 to 30, 1994, she was a member of the National Council for the Austrian People's Party. There, she advocated for flexible working hours, liberalization of store opening hours, and improved tax conditions for sponsors. She served as Vice President of the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1985 and as its President from 1988.
On 26 January 1995, she was appointed President of the Salzburg Festival and resigned from all political functions. During her tenure, she worked closely with six artistic directors — Gerard Mortier, Peter Ruzicka, Jürgen Flimm, Markus Hinterhäuser, Alexander Pereira, and Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Her presidency ended at the end of 2021. As she raised lots of money for the festival, her tenure is considered successful. She also instigated public viewings of festival productions and she insisted on carrying out a festival during the COVID pandemic with special hygiene measures for artists and audiences.
On June 1, 2022, she became Special Advisor for Foreign Cultural Affairs at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. She is now responsible for strengthening the cultural forums worldwide.