Bruno Kreisky was born in Vienna on January 22, 1911. He was already involved in social democratic youth organizations as a schoolboy.

After studying law, he fled to Sweden following the annexation of Austria by the German Reich. He returned to Vienna in the 1950s and worked as an advisor in the Federal Chancellery before becoming a member of the National Council in 1956. He held this seat until 1983.

Between 1959 and 1966, he held the office of Foreign Minister before becoming Federal Chancellor of Austria in 1970 after three years as leader of the opposition. In this capacity, he visited the Hessian capital in October 1974 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hessen-Nassauische Versicherungsanstalt.

Together with the President of the Bundestag, Annemarie Renger, he was received by Lord Mayor Schmitt in the ballroom of the town hall on October 23, 1974. After a friendly exchange, both signed the city's Golden Book. After his resignation in 1983, Dr. Kreisky withdrew from political life.

After several serious illnesses, he died in Vienna on July 29, 1990. His decades-long companion Willy Brandt delivered the eulogy at his state funeral.