Sylvester Leer

After leaving school, Sylvester Leer first completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith. He completed his military service in Klagenfurt and then became branch manager of the Carinthia printing works and bookshop in Wolfsberg from 1903 to 1913.

After the First World War, he took part in the freedom fights against the oppression by Yugoslavia. In a referendum for the Carinthians' right to self-determination on October 10, 1920, 59.12% voted for an undivided Carinthia. Sylvester Leer is awarded the Carinthian Cross of Merit in 1920 for his commitment. His political career now begins: he first becomes a member of the provisional provincial government in Carinthia and the military committee, and from 1921 he is a member of the Carinthian provincial parliament. He received the Grail ribbon at the re-establishment commemoration in 1925 and Rudolfina awarded him honorary membership in 1930. He became a provincial councillor and, for a short time in 1934, deputy governor.

On the night of March 11/12, 1938, he was arrested by the Gestapo as general administrator of the Carinthian welfare department and later transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1939 without being sentenced. After his release, he found work as an accountant.

In 1945, he was one of the co-founders of the ÖVP and became a provincial councillor again He is buried in Annabichl cemetery in Klagenfurt.