Kern started his career in 1989 as a
business journalist writing for the
Wirtschaftspressedienst and Austrian business magazine
Option. In 1991, he became an assistant of the
Federal Chancellery's undersecretary of state for civil service,
Peter Kostelka. When Kostelka became chairman of the
Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) parliamentary group in 1994, Kern remained his chief of office and spokesman. In 1997, Kern moved to the largest Austrian electricity supplier, the
Verbund AG, where from 1999 he oversaw marketing and sales. In 2007 he was appointed to be a member of the Board of Directors, additionally overseeing foreign
mergers & acquisitions, investments, international business, trading, and the Austrian
high-voltage transmission grid Kern has been a board member of
FK Austria Wien since 2009. In 2012, ÖBB celebrated the 175th anniversary of the
Nordbahn, the earliest predecessor company marking the start of
rail transport in Austria. Kern inaugurated an exhibition on the company's complicity with the
Third Reich, named "The Suppressed Years – Railway and National Socialism in Austria 1938–1945". He referred to that period as "the darkest part of our company's history," adding that "We are obliged to commemorate and with this documentation we would like to further contribute to coming to terms with the past. No matter how incredible these events may seem to us today, we need to clearly accept these times as part of our ÖBB history." The exhibition later went on tour and was presented at the
European Parliament's
parliamentary building in Brussels. For his extraordinary engagement accounting for the company's past, in June 2013 the
Vienna Israelite Community awarded Kern the
Marietta and Friedrich Torberg Medal. In the course of the 2015
European migrant crisis, Kern organized the transport of hundred thousands of migrants coming from the "
Balkan route" across the country. He is considered a supporter of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel's migration policy. , a leading
Austrian trade unionist who is also chairman of the ÖBB's
works council, described Kern in 2016 as "the first ÖBB boss to really stand by his workers." In 2015, Austrian news magazine
profil referred to him as the "Chancellor of hearts" and the Federal Railways he led as "the only state institution that flawlessly worked amidst the refugee crisis". Half a year later, when on 9 May 2016 Chancellor Faymann resigned from all his posts, Kern was again named one of the candidates alongside Time Warner manager
Gerhard Zeiler and former Siemens manager . On a 12 May party session, the Social Democrats agreed on nominating Kern for the country's highest executive office. He was announced to be appointed the new chancellor by 17 May, and to be nominated as party chairman at the upcoming party congress on 25 June. Kern was sworn into office on 17 May by outgoing President
Heinz Fischer. At his first press conference, Kern called for a change in the style of cooperation within the coalition government, warning the two parties risked otherwise "disappearing from the screen". He reaffirmed his position that in the refugee crisis, Austria was right not to "leave women and children standing in the rain", while ensuring order and security. The appointment of Wehsely, who is known for her staunch pro-asylum course during the
European migrant crisis, was however considered all too controversial, with political analyst Thomas Hofer referring to it as a declaration of war (
kleine Kampfansage) against conservative coalition partner
ÖVP. Wehsely ultimately declined and decided she would stay city councillor in Vienna. At the time, observers expected Kern to follow the centrist examples of German chancellor
Gerhard Schröder or Britain's
Tony Blair, combining pro-business policies with a social conscience. The fact that Duzdar, who has previously come out as a sharp critic of Israel, will now be in charge of Jewish community affairs, irritated the Jewish community. According to
The Jerusalem Post author Samuel Laster, Duzdar's appointment may however be considered a "signal of openness" for Kern who is "widely regarded as a friend of Israel." In August 2016, Kern announced his opposition to
Turkey's
accession to the European Union. Soon after taking office, Kern's government implemented several law-and-order measures, including a ban on Muslim face-covering veils and a tightening of immigration rules. In June 2017, Kern criticized the draft of new U.S. sanctions against Russia that target EU–Russia energy projects, including
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. In a joint statement, Kern and Germany's foreign minister
Sigmar Gabriel said that "Europe's energy supply is a matter for Europe, and not for the United States of America." In October 2017's
snap general election, Kern's SPÖ got defeated by
Sebastian Kurz's ÖVP. Kurz decided to form a
coalition with the
FPÖ. From December 2017, Kern was leader of the opposition.
Resignation from politics In September 2018, Kern announced that he would resign as national party leader and instead run as top candidate for the Austrian Social Democrats in the
European Parliament elections. In October 2018, he announced he was quitting politics completely. His successor as party leader is
Pamela Rendi-Wagner and
Andreas Schieder was presented as top candidate in the EU Parliament elections. ==Other activities==