Constituent National Assembly

The Constituent National Assembly was the parliamentary body that directed Austria's transition from the Habsburg imperial order to the republican state established after the First World War. Usually referred to in German as the Konstituierende Nationalversammlung, it was elected on 16 February 1919 and convened on 4 March 1919. It replaced the Provisional National Assembly, whose membership and legitimacy had been rooted in the last Imperial Council elections of 1911 rather than in a new, broadly democratic mandate. Its election represented a major constitutional and social change. It was the first national parliamentary election in Austria in which women and men participated on equal terms. Women's suffrage therefore formed one of the assembly's defining historical features, placing the body at the beginning of Austria's experience with universal national electoral rights. The assembly operated during a period of exceptional uncertainty: the Austro-Hungarian Empire had collapsed, the future borders of the German-speaking Austrian lands were disputed, and the political system had to be reconstructed while the consequences of war and imperial dissolution were still unfolding. The assembly's work combined ordinary legislation with constituent functions. It adopted the Habsburg Act, which regulated the legal consequences of the former ruling dynasty's position in the new republic. It also ratified the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the postwar settlement that formally confirmed the end of Cisleithania and imposed restrictions on Austria's ability to unite with Germany. The treaty required Austria to remain independent, making the assembly's ratification a central act in defining the republic's international status. On 15 March 1919, the assembly established a State Council composed of its three presidents and twenty additional deputies. This institution was part of the transitional governmental structure created before the permanent federal constitutional system came into force. Karl Seitz, president of the assembly, served as head of state during the transition. The earlier practice of rotating the chair among three presiding officers ended, and Seitz continued in the leading constitutional role until Austria elected its first federal president on 9 December 1920. The assembly's culminating achievement was the Constitution of Austria, adopted at its final meeting on 1 October 1920. The constitution created the framework of the First Austrian Republic and remains the foundation of Austria's constitutional order, although it has been amended substantially over time. On 10 November 1920, the Constituent National Assembly was replaced by the permanent bicameral parliamentary structure consisting of the National Council and the Federal Council. The transition also changed the terminology and organization of the executive: the state government became the federal government, the state chancellor became the federal chancellor, state secretaries became ministers, and the state law gazette became the federal law gazette. The assembly was therefore not a continuing institution or an organization that traded under a commercial brand. It was a transitional legislature whose historical importance lies in founding the constitutional and parliamentary institutions of modern Austria. Its period of activity linked the revolutionary aftermath of imperial collapse with the legal establishment of a republican federal state.

The Constituent National Assembly emerged from the political collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of the First World War. The Provisional National Assembly had initially represented the German-speaking territories of the former empire, but its mandate derived from the 1911 elections to the imperial Imperial Council. A new election was therefore necessary to provide the emerging Austrian republic with a democratic national legislature. The election took place on 16 February 1919. It was historically significant because it was the first Austrian national election conducted with equal participation by women and men. The resulting body became Austria's first parliament chosen through free and equal national elections. It convened on 4 March 1919 and replaced the Provisional National Assembly. The assembly functioned both as a legislature and as a constituent body. It had to create institutions for a state whose territorial position, international status and relationship with the former dynasty were unsettled. Among its important measures was the Habsburg Act, which addressed the legal position of the Habsburg family in republican Austria. The assembly also ratified the Treaty of Saint-Germain. That treaty confirmed the international consequences of the empire's dissolution and required Austria to preserve its independence rather than unite with Germany. The transition required interim constitutional arrangements. On 15 March 1919, the assembly established the State Council, comprising the three presidents of the assembly and twenty additional deputies. Karl Seitz, the assembly's president, became the principal transitional head of state. The previous arrangement in which the three parliamentary presidents rotated in the leading role was discontinued. Seitz remained in that position until the first Austrian federal president was elected on 9 December 1920. The assembly's central long-term achievement was the Constitution of Austria. It was adopted at the body's final meeting on 1 October 1920 and supplied the institutional framework for the First Republic. The constitution created a federal parliamentary system and defined the relationship among the central state, the provinces and the legislature. Although later amended, it remains the foundation of Austrian constitutional law. The constituent body's formal replacement followed shortly afterward. On 10 November 1920, the National Council and Federal Council took over as the permanent parliament. The executive was reorganized as a federal government, the state chancellor became the federal chancellor, and state secretaries became ministers. The state law gazette was likewise transformed into a federal law gazette. These changes marked the end of the transitional constitutional phase and the beginning of Austria's regular federal parliamentary institutions. The Constituent National Assembly consequently had a short lifespan but a foundational role. It established democratic legitimacy through universal national suffrage, legislated on the most sensitive questions left by imperial collapse, and adopted the constitutional framework that continues to define the Austrian state.

• 1920

  Constitution of Austria adopted

  [1]Constituent National Assembly (Austria)en.wikipedia.org

  The assembly adopted Austria's constitution at its final meeting on 1 October.

• 1920

  Assembly replaced by permanent federal parliament

  [1]Constituent National Assembly (Austria)en.wikipedia.org

  The National Council and Federal Council replaced the constituent body on 10 November, completing the transition to the federal parliamentary system.

• 1919

  First national election with equal male and female suffrage

  [1]Constituent National Assembly (Austria)en.wikipedia.org

  Austria elected the assembly on 16 February in the country's first national parliamentary election open to women and men on equal terms.

• 1919

  Assembly begins work

  [1]Constituent National Assembly (Austria)en.wikipedia.org

  The Constituent National Assembly convened on 4 March and replaced the Provisional National Assembly.

• 1919

  State Council created

  [1]Constituent National Assembly (Austria)en.wikipedia.org

  A transitional State Council was established on 15 March, consisting of the three assembly presidents and twenty other deputies.

A transitional constituent legislature responsible for establishing the legal and constitutional foundations of republican Austria.

• 1920

  Adoption of the Constitution of AustriaOther

  Background

  Austria required a permanent constitutional framework to replace the transitional arrangements created after the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy.

  Action taken

  At its final meeting on 1 October 1920, the assembly adopted the Constitution of Austria.

  Aftermath

  The constitution established the framework for Austria's federal parliamentary republic and remains the foundation of the country's constitutional order.

  Source

• Adoption of the Habsburg ActOther

  Background

  The assembly had to determine the legal consequences of the end of Habsburg rule and the establishment of a republican state.

  Action taken

  It adopted the Habsburg Act as part of the new republic's legal settlement concerning the former ruling dynasty.

  Aftermath

  The measure became one of the principal legal acts defining the break between republican Austria and the former imperial order.

  Source

• Ratification of the Treaty of Saint-GermainOther

  Background

  The postwar settlement required Austria to accept the international consequences of the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and to maintain its independence from Germany.

  Action taken

  The assembly ratified the Treaty of Saint-Germain.

  Aftermath

  The treaty confirmed Austria's post-imperial international position and rejected the prospect of an immediate union with Germany.

  Source

1. 1Constituent National Assembly (Austria)en.wikipedia.org