Striedinger's Successor

Lieutenant General Vodosek Named New Chief of the Austrian Armed Forces

Lieutenant General Harald Vodosek, head of the Armaments Directorate, will become the new Chief of the General Staff of the Austrian Armed Forces.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, Krone KREATIV)

The country’s highest-ranking military officer, General Rudolf Striedinger, will retire at the end of September. On Thursday, the Ministry of Defense announced his successor: Lieutenant General Harald Vodosek, head of the Defense Procurement Agency. The previous front-runner had fallen out of favor.

Vodosek has headed Directorate 5—Procurement—since 2021 and has thus played a key role in implementing the “2032+ Development Plan.”

“With Lieutenant General Vodosek, a highly qualified and experienced officer is taking over the leadership of the Austrian Armed Forces,” Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) was quoted as saying. Vodosek knows the Austrian Armed Forces from a wide variety of roles and has “extensive experience in the areas of operations, leadership, personnel, and procurement,” according to Tanner: “Especially at a time when we are systematically modernizing the Austrian Armed Forces and preparing them for the challenges of the future, his expertise is of particular importance.”

Lieutenant General Harald Vodosek, Head of Armaments, will become the new Chief of the General Staff of the Austrian Armed Forces.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, Krone KREATIV)

Minister Tanner and Director of Defense Procurement Vodosek on August 25 at the handover of the modernized “Ulan” infantry fighting vehicles and “Leopard” 2A4 main battle tanks to the Austrian Armed Forces at the Jansa Barracks in Lower Austria(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Six officers had applied
The application deadline for the military’s highest-ranking position expired on April 22. Six officers had applied, three of whom were rated by the commission as “highly” suitable. According to reports, these included Lieutenant Generals Bruno Günter Hofbauer, Karl Schmidseder, and Vodosek. Tanner met with all applicants for a personal interview.

Previous Favorite Has Fallen Out of Favor
Hofbauer, the Austrian Armed Forces’ chief of planning, had long been considered a shoo-in and enjoys great popularity among the troops. However, he is said to have “fallen out of favor” because he wrote the critical National Defense Report. The report stated that the Austrian Armed Forces would have to scale back and delay its “2032+ Development Plan” due to a lack of funding. The new Chief of the General Staff, Vodosek, is criticized for his ties to the ÖVP. The head of the Defense Procurement Agency has fewer supporters than Hofbauer. 

What the Chief of the General Staff Had to Bring to the Table
The Chief of the General Staff is the highest-ranking officer in the Austrian Armed Forces and heads the General Staff, which reports directly to the Ministry of Defense. He is the most important military advisor to the minister.

The general’s salary is quite impressive: the highest-ranking uniformed officer receives 13,187.10 euros gross per month. In return, according to the job posting, he must have experience in the areas of security, defense, and military policy, as well as armed forces planning and leadership. Additional requirements include international experience, a good command of English, and physical fitness.