Born in
Bludenz,
Vorarlberg, Schmidt attended the
Stella Matutina Jesuit school in
Feldkirch, where he met with the later Austrian Chancellor
Kurt Schuschnigg. He studied law at the
University of Vienna, receiving his doctorate in 1924 and the next year he joined the Austrian diplomatic service. From 1927 he served in the office of President
Wilhelm Miklas, promoted to the rank of a vice-director in 1928. Schmidt was a member of the
Christian Social Party and in 1933 joined the
Fatherland's Front under Chancellor
Engelbert Dollfuss. He played an important part in the conclusion of the 1936 "
July Agreement" of the government of Dollfuss' successor Kurt Schuschnigg with
Nazi Germany and in turn was appointed State Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He and Interior Minister
Edmund Glaise-Horstenau served as the main contact men to the German
Nazi government. On 12 February 1938 Schuschnigg under pressure from Hitler elevated Schmidt to the rank of a Federal Minister, a post he held until 11 March 1938, when the chancellor was forced to resign only hours before the invasion of
Wehrmacht troops and the Austrian
Anschluss to Nazi Germany. Schmidt played a vital role in the preceding demission of Chief of Staff
Alfred Jansa, nevertheless he did not join the Nazi government of
Arthur Seyss-Inquart, whereafter he retired from politics. By the intercession of
Hermann Göring he became an executive director of the
Reichswerke industrial conglomerate at
Linz on 1 July 1938. In 1945, Schmidt was temporarily imprisoned by the
Allied occupation forces because of his pro-Nazi attitude and accused of
high treason, but was acquitted in 1947. From 1956 he continued his career as
CEO of the
Semperit company. Schmidt died in
Vienna at the age of 56. He was the father of the Austrian businessman
Guido Schmidt-Chiari. ==Works==