Dr. Rudolf Seehofer

Rudolf Seehofer was born the son of an innkeeper couple. After elementary school, he attended the Jesuit College Kollegium Kalksburg near Vienna, where he graduated in 1904. He then began studying at the Faculty of Law at the University of Vienna, where he joined the Norica student fraternity.

In early February 1915, Rudolf Seehofer was called up for military service. He is first assigned to a Landsturm battalion, then to the k. u. k. Infantry Regiments No. 84 and 99. In 1917 he passed the officer's examination. He suffers several wounds (last rank cadet aspirant).

After the war, Rudolf Seehofer does not resume his studies for the time being, but takes up a position as secretary of the Christian Social Party in the district of Leoben. He is elected to the municipal council in the town of Leoben. In 1919, he became General Secretary of the Christian Social Party of Styria and organized the election campaign for the National Council and Styrian state parliament elections in autumn 1920. He stood as a candidate, was elected and was a member of the Styrian parliament from 1920 to 1923. Rudolf Seehofer retired from politics in 1923 and no longer stood for the Styrian parliament. In 1919, he is also one of the co-founders of the secondary school fraternity Lützow Leoben.

Rudolf Seehofer now devotes himself to completing his studies. In 1924, he passed the two remaining state examinations and the three rigorous examinations at the Faculty of Law at the University of Graz (Dr. iur. 1925). After completing his studies, he completed his year in court and then began his career as a lawyer. After working as a trainee lawyer in Graz and Hartberg, he passed the bar exam in 1931 and opened a law firm in Wildon (Leibnitz district, Styria) in 1932.

From 1936 to 1938, Rudolf Seehofer was district secretary of the Patriotic Front for the Leibnitz district. This is probably one of the reasons why he was reported to the bar association by the Rechtswahrerbund during the Nazi era and had to undergo a disciplinary investigation. A boycott was imposed on him (professional ban) and he had to accept a loss of assets. In mid-1943, he was conscripted to the state insurance office.