Walter Schwimmer

After being a member of the Austrian Parliament (National Council) for 28 years, serving as chairperson of several committees (Justice, Health, Housing and Construction) and deputy leader of his political group (ÖVP – Austrian People's Party), Schwimmer was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

He held this post from 1 September 1999 until 31 August 2004. At the beginning of his term, The Economist accused him of being a "timid moral policeman" over his treatment of the Chechen–Russian conflict.{{cite web

|title= Walter Schwimmer, timid moral policeman.(Council of Europe equivocates over conflict in Chechnya)

|publisher=The Economist

|date=1999-11-27

|url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57844029.html

|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121026142431/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57844029.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date= 2012-10-26

|accessdate=2009-09-15}} In June 2004 his attempt to be elected to a second five-year term as secretary general failed, like all his predecessors of whom no one was reelected.

Shortly before his death, Schwimmer worked as a consultant on international relations and European affairs, based in Klosterneuburg near Vienna.{{cite web

|title= Walter Schwimmer CV

|publisher=European Democracy Forum

|url= http://www.europe-democracy.org/en/CV_Schwimmer.htm

|accessdate=2009-09-15}}

He was (honorary) Secretary General of the Maison de la Méditerranée/Fondazione Mediterraneo (Naples) and Chairman of the International Coordination Committee of the World Public Forum - Dialogue of Civilisations, a Russian vehicle.

On 15 April 2010, he became president of Megatrend University, the largest private university in Serbia.{{Cite web |url=http://www.megatrend.edu.rs/obav.php?o=4800&i=1&language=1&language=0 |title=Megatrend Univerzitet |access-date=2010-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227184427/http://www.megatrend.edu.rs/obav.php?o=4800&i=1&language=1&language=0 |archive-date=2012-02-27 |url-status=dead }} He resigned from this position in January 2013.

Schwimmer died on 12 March 2025, at the age of 82.[https://www.kleinezeitung.at/politik/aussenpolitik/19466692/ex-europarats-generalsekretaer-und-oevp-politiker-schwimmer-tot Ex-Europarats-Generalsekretär und ÖVP-Politiker Schwimmer tot] {{in lang|de}}

{{one source|section|date=March 2025}}

In a 2015 with Russia Direct Schwimmer emphasized that the Euromaidan "was originally a civil society movement against corruption and had nothing to do with pro-European or anti-Russian choice. However, it was seen by Russia as a coup d'état and by the EU as a kind of strategic decision of Ukraine to go not with Russia but with Europe, which Schwimmer dismissed as a "misinterpretation" and "nonsense."{{cite web|last1=Khlebnikov|first1=Alexey|title=There is no Europe without Russia and no Russia without Europe|url=http://www.russia-direct.org/qa/there-no-europe-without-russia-and-no-russia-without-europe|website=Russia Direct|accessdate=17 April 2018|language=en|date=19 March 2015}} In the same interview he blames poor European communication for the Russian military getting "concerned about the possibility of losing the naval base in Sevastopol." Not giving Russia a guarantee to keep the naval base in Sevastopol was a mistake, according to Schwimmer: "now Russia and the EU are trapped. Russia will not retreat from Crimea and the EU cannot acknowledge its annexation, since it was against international law. And now Russia and the EU are trapped in this escalation of sanctions that are leading to nothing."

• {{Flag|Austria}}: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (2005){{cite web | url = http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/AB/AB_10542/imfname_251156.pdf | title = Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour | language = German | page=1637 |trans-title=| accessdate = November 1, 2012 }}

• {{Flag|France}}: Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour
• {{Flag|Mexico}}: Order of the Aztec Eagle (Águila Azteca)
• {{Flag|Romania}}: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania

• "The European Dream", Continuum Publishing, London 2004 (translated from the German "Der Traum Europa, Springer-Verlag 2003, also available in Russian, Italian and Serbian).

• [http://www.euromedi.org Maison de la Méditerranée/Fondazione Mediterraneo]
• [http://www.wpfdc.org World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations]
• [http://www.wpfdc.at World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations/Vienna headquarters]
• [http://www.europedemocracy.org European Democracy Forum]
• [http://www.parlinkom.gv.at/WWER/PAD_01810/index.shtml Austrian Parliament]

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{{succession box

| title = Secretary General of the Council of Europe

| years = 1 September 1999 - 31 August 2004

| before = Daniel Tarschys

| after = Terry Davis

}}

{{s-end}}

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Category:1942 births

Category:2025 deaths

Category:Council of Europe Secretaries-General

Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania

Category:Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria

Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour

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