Peter Krauland

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Peter Krauland (6 August 1903 – 8 September 1985) was an Austrian lawyer, businessman and politician. He was born in Groß Sankt Florian, Austria-Hungary. He studied at an Austrian business school (1917–1921) and then studied law at the University of Vienna (1926–1931), earning his doctorate in 1933. He was active in a Catholic student group during this time.

From 1934 to 1938, during Austrofascism, Krauland held various roles in the Government of Styria, including State Financial Secretary and member of the State Council. After the 1938 Anschluss, the Nazi regime removed him from his position and he was imprisoned for some time.

After World War II, from December 1945 to October 1949, he served as Minister of Property Management and Economic Planning for the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). His department, sometimes called the “Ministry of Krauland,” managed assets that Austrian organizations owned before 1938 and that were confiscated by the Nazis, distributing them under a Proporz system, including printing and publishing houses.

A corruption case arose around a deal with the Guggenbach paper mill, which allegedly required the ÖVP to receive 700,000 schillings. In 1951 authorities sought his extradition, and he remained in Parliament as an independent until 1953. He and others were tried for corruption in 1954; the court found he had abused his powers and caused over one million schillings in damage. However, an Amnesty Law from 1950 pardoned crimes committed before 1947, so he was acquitted of that charge.

Krauland died in Vienna on 8 September 1985 and is buried at the Hietzing Cemetery.