Austrian Defence Lab

Leopold Schmertzing is a security and defence analyst and an expert in strategic foresight.

He is an Associate Fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) and a Non-Resident Fellow for Strategic Foresight at the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). He previously served as Head of Programme at the European Forum Alpbach (EFA) and as a research analyst and policy adviser at the European Parliament. He has also worked for the OSCE, the Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence, and various think tanks.

Benedikt Schmidinger is a manager at the interface of politics and the public sector, an expert in strategic communication, and a public affairs and policy adviser.

After working as a senior consultant in communications consultancy and founding his own agency, he joined the cabinet of the Austrian Federal Minister for EU and Constitutional Affairs at the Federal Chancellery in 2020, first as deputy head and most recently as head of cabinet. Since 2025, he has been Secretary General of the Europa-Forum Wachau (EFW), which he has significantly expanded both strategically and in terms of its programme.

Franz-Stefan Gady is a military analyst, policy adviser and author focusing on the future of warfare.

He is a Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in Washington. He advises armed forces in Europe and the United States on structural reform and has conducted field research in Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine. He is the author of ‘Die Rückkehr des Krieges’ (‘The Return of War’).

Photo: CNAS

Monika Köppl-Turyna is an economist and Director of the economic research institute EcoAustria.

Her research focuses on public finance, distributional issues, the labour market and political economy. Before her appointment in 2020, she was Senior Economist at Agenda Austria and Assistant Professor at the Lisbon University Institute. She is a professor at Seeburg Castle University and is regarded as one of Austria’s most influential economists.

Photo: Weinwurm Fotografie / EcoAustria

Michael Dóczy is an independent adviser on EU and international affairs with a focus on European foreign and security policy.

From 2020 to 2024, he was EU Ambassador to Bolivia. Before that, he was responsible for Ukraine in the cabinet of EU Commissioner Hahn, was part of the team that set up the European External Action Service (EEAS), headed the cabinet of EEAS Deputy Secretary General Helga Schmid and took part in the nuclear negotiations with Iran. He began his career at the Austrian Federal Chancellery and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Photo: privat

Andreas Rast is a media manager, Managing Director of ‘Die Presse’ and a former career officer in the Austrian Armed Forces.

Since 2022, he has been responsible for the media house’s B2B business, from advertising sales to events. Within the Styria Media Group, he previously worked for Kleine Zeitung and Regionalmedien Austria, and he has held a senior position at ‘Die Presse’ since 2015. He is a member of the advisory board of the TU Wien Academy.

Photo: Stefan Gergely / STETER

Thomas Starlinger is a Major General in the Austrian Armed Forces and a former Federal Minister of Defence.

He headed the Ministry of Defence in the Bierlein caretaker government in 2019/20. Previously, he served as military aide-de-camp to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and worked on force planning within the EU military structure. Since 2023, he has headed Austria’s military representation in Brussels; since 2025, he has also advised the Austrian Foreign Minister on security policy matters.

Photo: Bundesheer / BMLV

Werner Fasslabend is a lawyer by training, a long-serving senior politician and President of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES).

From 1990 to 2000, he was Austria’s Federal Minister of Defence – the longest tenure in that office to date – and in 1998 he hosted the first meeting of EU defence ministers. He subsequently served as Third President of the National Council. From 2004 to 2015, he headed the Political Academy of the ÖVP, of which he is Honorary President.

Photo: Ralph Manfreda / AIES

Friedhelm Frischenschlager is a lawyer by training, a politician and a committed European.

From 1983 to 1986, he was Austria’s Federal Minister of Defence. As a co-founder of the Liberal Forum, he was its first federal spokesperson, and from 1996 to 1999 he served as a Member of the European Parliament. For the OSCE, he headed the Democratisation Department in Kosovo. He is Vice-President of the European Movement Austria.

Photo: Franz Johann Morgenbesser / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Gustav Gressel is a military analyst specialising in Russia, Eastern Europe and European defence policy.

He is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the National Defence Academy of the Austrian Armed Forces. From 2014 to 2024, he was a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in Berlin. Previously, he worked at the Bureau for Security Policy of the Ministry of Defence and served as an officer in the Austrian Armed Forces. He holds a doctorate in Strategic Studies.

Photo: seesaw-foto.com / ECFR

Velina Tchakarova is a geopolitical strategist and the founder of the consultancy FACE.

Her work focuses on strategic geopolitics, global systemic shifts and European security and energy policy. She previously headed the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES). She is a member of the Security and Strategy Committee of the Ministry of Defence’s Scientific Commission and coined the term ‘DragonBear’ for the strategic partnership between China and Russia.

Photo: Christoph Kleinsasser

Christian Strohal is a diplomat and a recognised expert on human rights and multilateral security.

From 2003 to 2008, he headed the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw. He then served as Austria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and to the OSCE in Vienna. In 2016/17, he was Special Representative for the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship.

Photo: Andi Bruckner / Austrian Centre for Peace

Walter Feichtinger is a retired Brigadier General of the Austrian Armed Forces and President of the Center for Strategic Analyses (CSA).

From 2002 to 2020, he headed the Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management at the National Defence Academy. Before that, he advised the Federal Chancellery on security and defence policy and commanded the 10th Armoured Battalion. He is a co-founder of the International Society of Military Sciences and was Deputy Chair of the Military Service Commission in 2025/26. In 2021, the Federal President conferred on him the professional title of Professor.

Photo: Center für Strategische Analysen (CSA)

Rainer Münz is a demographer and an expert on international migration and demographic ageing.

From 2015 to 2019, he advised the European Commission on migration and demography at the European Political Strategy Centre. Previously, he headed the research department of Erste Group and taught as a professor at Humboldt University of Berlin. Today, he is Associate Faculty at the Complexity Science Hub and teaches at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

Photo: Complexity Science Hub (CSH)

Wilhelm Molterer is a former Vice-Chancellor of Austria, Chair of the GLOBSEC Board and President of the ÖGfE.

From 1994 to 2003, he was Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and in 2007/08 Vice-Chancellor, Minister of Finance and federal party leader of the ÖVP. He then served as Vice-President of the European Investment Bank and headed the European Fund for Strategic Investments. He has chaired the Board of GLOBSEC, a European think tank for security and foreign policy, since 2021; since 2026, he has also been President of the Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE).

Photo: Österreichische Gesellschaft für Europapolitik (ÖGfE)