Uta Bachmann:

Ländle police to be led by a woman in future

Uta Bachmann (pictured with Michael Rösler and Magnus Frank) will head Vorarlberg's police force in future.(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

The cat is out of the bag: Uta Bachmann will be the new state police director. The 51-year-old lawyer succeeds Hans-Peter Ludescher, who is retiring.

Bachmann had been assessed as "highly suitable" by an independent evaluation commission, and on Friday Federal Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) informed the central committee of the appointment. The formal decision is still pending and will be made in the coming days in agreement with Governor Markus Wallner, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The Minister of the Interior will then ask Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen to appoint the new state police director.

A wealth of experience
After studying law in Vienna and Innsbruck, Bachmann began her career in the gendarmerie in 1999 and worked in both patrol duty and criminal investigation. From 2006, she headed the Security and Criminal Police Department of the Vorarlberg Security Directorate, and from 2010 the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism.

Vorarlberg will therefore be the second federal state after Carinthia to have a woman at the head of the police force. A fact that Karner particularly emphasizes: "I am delighted that Uta Bachmann, another highly qualified and highly suitable state police director, is taking up her post. She has led the State Office for State Security and Counter-Extremism in an outstanding manner and has delivered an excellent performance. We already have classes of police students in which there are more women than men. It is therefore all the more important that this is also reflected at management level."