Quick Facts
| Intro | Austrian politician |
| Is | Writer Journalist Television presenter Politician News presenter Non-fiction writer |
| From | Austria |
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio Journalism Literature Politics |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 15 April 1951, Vienna |
| Age | 72 years |
Biography
Eugen Freund (born 15 April 1951) is an Austrian politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Austria. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists.
Professional career
A former press secretary for the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Austria under Minister Willibald Pahr, Freund joined the country’s state broadcaster, ORF, in 1986 and among other posts was Washington correspondent and then presenter of the main evening news show until his retirement at the end of 2013.
Member of the European Parliament, 2014–present
In January 2014, Austria’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) named Freund as its top candidate for the 2014 European elections, succeeding Hannes Swoboda. As a Member of the European Parliament, he has since been serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Security and Defence and the parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States. In addition, he is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Western Sahara.
In October, Freund joined the SPÖ as a member.
