Ingrid Leodolter (Zechner)

Born:	08-14-1919
Faculty:	Medical School | Medical University Vienna
Category:	Expelled student

Ingrid LEODOLTER (nee ZECHNER), born on August 14th, 1919 in Vienna/Austria (entitled residency ('heimatberechtigt') for Vienna/Austria, Citizenship: Austria), daughter of Dr. Leopold Zechner (school director), lived in Vienna 13^th district, Hadikgasse 102. After finishing the High school for girls in Wien-Hietzing with the "Matura", she was enrolled at the Medical School of the University of Vienna from fall term 1937/38 until finally in fall term 1941/42.
She was discriminated as a so called 'Mischling 2. Grades' but could continue her studies – valid until revoked – and graduated on November 2nd, 1943. Her older sister Hildegund Zechner, married Kothbauer (1917-2012) had finished her studies alsready on December 20th, 1939.

After passing a special training for internal medicine, she was appointed medical director at the medical department of the General Hospital (“Allgemeines Krankenhaus”) in 1951 and moved in 1958 to the Sophienhospital in Vienna. She was head of the hospital since 1962.
In 1971 she was appointed to the government under Bundeskanzler Bruno Kreisky, at first without a special department, in 1972 she took the administration of the new constituted ministry of health and environmental protection. In 1974 the "Mutter-Kind-Pass" was introduced, which caused a reduction of the infant mortality in Austria. During her term of office until 1979 she succeeded in increasing the Geburtenbeihilfe and introduced a medical check-up for women over 30 years, which was free of charge to enable early diagnosis of breast and uterus cancer.

Ingrid Leodolter died on November 17^th, 1986 in Vienna. The day care center of the city of Vienna (MA 47) for caring for elderly people living at the Social-Medical Center Sophienspital, Vienna 7^th district., Apollogasse 19, was named after her (closed in June 2016), as well as the Ingrid Leodolter Haus, the home for the elderly people in Vienna 15^th district, Kardinal Rauscher Platz (errected 2015, opened 2016). In September 2017 the Leodolterpromenade in Vienna 13^th district (Hietzing) is named after her.

Lit.: Munzinger-Archive; Web-Lexikon der Wiener Sozialdemokratie; KNIEFACZ/POSCH 2016 ; KNIEFACZ/POSCH 2017b.

Katharina Kniefacz, Herbert Posch