Johann Georg "Hans Jörg" Schelling (; born 27 December 1953) is an Austrian entrepreneur and politician of the Austrian People's Party and who served as Minister of Finance of Austria in the governments of chancellors Werner Faymann and Christian Kern.
Early career A native of Vorarlberg in western Austria, Schelling was a millionaire management consultant before entering politics. Over the course of his career, he made a fortune by building two separate home-furnishing chains into market leaders.Michael Shields (7 July 2015), Furniture magnate Schelling steers Austrian finance overhaul Reuters.
Political career During his time in office as Minister of Finance, Schelling was in charge of managing the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis. In 2016, he closed FIMBAG, the agency it set up in 2008 during the crisis to oversee state aid granted to troubled lenders.Michael Shields (3 November 2015), Austria to close agency overseeing state aid to banks Reuters. He successfully pushed through legislation paving the way for the government to reach settlements with the creditors of defunct bank Hypo Alpe Adria and remove a millstone from the country's public finances.Francois Murphy (15 October 2015), Austria passes law paving way for Heta settlement Reuters.
Under Schelling's leadership, Austria asked France in 2015 to hand over tax data linked to leaked client data of multinational banking and financial services company HSBC which had admitted failings in compliance at its Swiss private bank.Shadia Nasralla (26 February 2015), France will hand Austria HSBC tax data within days Reuters. He also supported state-owned utility OMV in its negotiations on an asset swap with Gazprom and in 2016 took part in the ceremony, in which OMV agreed to exchange a stake in its Norwegian business for a stake in the Russian group's Achimov oil and gas exploration blocks; the deal was later abandoned due to opposition from Norway.Kirsti Knolle (18 April 2019), Austria's ex-finance minister nominated for OMV supervisory board Reuters.
From 2015, Schelling chaired the group of EU Member States that want to adopt a common tax on financial transactions.Francesco Guarascio (14 June 2016), EU finance ministers to hold 'last-chance' talks on transactions tax Reuters.
Life after politics In 2019, Schelling was nominated to serve as a member of the supervisory board at OMV;Kirsti Knolle (18 April 2019), Austria's ex-finance minister nominated for OMV supervisory board Reuters. shortly after, the nomination was withdrawn due to a potential breach of the Austrian government's rules on a cooling-off period for former ministers. Trend, 8 May 2019.
Other activities Corporate boards Österreichische Volksbanken-Aktiengesellschaft (ÖVAG), chairman of the supervisory board (2012–2014)Board of Governors: Hans Jörg Schelling European Stability Mechanism. Nord Stream 2, Adviser (2018–present)
Regulatory bodies African Development Bank (AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2015–2017)AfDB Annual Report 2016 African Development Bank (AfDB). Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2015–2017)Board of Governors Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017)Board of Governors European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). European Investment Bank (EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017)Board of Governors European Investment Bank (EIB). European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017)Board of Governors: Hans Jörg Schelling European Stability Mechanism. Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017)Board of Governors Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group. World Bank, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017)Board of Governors World Bank.
Non-profit organizations Federation of Social Insurance Providers, chairman of the Board (2009–2014
Personal life Schelling is married and has two daughters. He is a collector of modern art and enjoys spending time on Stiftsweingut Herzogenburg, the vineyard he operates in his adopted province of Lower Austria.Michael Shields (7 July 2015), Furniture magnate Schelling steers Austrian finance overhaul Reuters.
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