THOMAS KLESTIL, the President of Austria who restored dignity to an office stained by his predecessor’s Nazi past, died last night of multiple organ failure, just two days before his term was due to end.

Herr Klestil, 71, was found unconscious early on Monday at his suburban villa in Vienna by security guards, who used a defibrillator to revive him. He had suffered from a severe bout of pneumonia in 1996, and his lung problems had turned serious again in recent days.

Herr Klestil’s second and final six-year term was due to end tomorrow, when Heinz Fischer takes over as President. A packed schedule for Herr Klestil’s last days in office had already been cancelled, and Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel assumed presidential duties until the handover. While the post is mostly ceremonial, the President is Commander-in-Chief of the country’s armed forces, and the constitution gives the head of state the power to reject nominations for Cabinet ministers or even to remove them from office.

Herr Klestil, a career diplomat who earlier served as ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations, was widely credited with helping to restore Austria’s credibility following a controversy over the wartime service of his predecessor, Kurt Waldheim.

On a trip to Israel during his first term, Herr Klestil expressed sympathy for victims of the Holocaust in a speech to the Knesset, making a reference to Austria’s role in the atrocities; only one of the numerous times he spoke out against Nazi horrors and his country’s part in them.

Initially backed by the conservative People’s Party, Herr Klestil was later cast adrift due to personal rivalries between him and Herr Schüssel, the party’s leader. President Klestil won the respect, if not the affection, of Austrians for repairing much of the damage to the country’s international image caused by revelations about former President Waldheim’s role in the Nazi Wehrmacht.

But he also raised the eyebrows of many Catholic traditionalists when he took up with a young aide, Margit Löffler, prompting his wife of 37 years to walk out on him in 1994. Herr Klestil married Ms Löffler in 1998, shortly after being re-elected to a second six-year term.

Herr Klestil, a conservative like Chancellor Schüssel, was nevertheless critical of Herr Schüssel’s decision to forge a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party of Jörg Haider in 2000, a decision which resulted in seven moths of international diplomatic sanctions against Austria.

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Afghanistan News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• A doctor, a daughter and a man called Johnny
• Mona Lisa's smile may belie ill health
• ‘Parasite economy’ lies behind Greek tragedy