Othmar Karas

• Mag. phil. (1996)
• Master of European and International Business Law (MBL), University of St. Gallen (1997)
• Manager in the banking and insurance sector (since 1981)
• Assistant Secretary-General of Bundesländer Versicherung (currently on leave of absence)

Beginnings

• Federal president of the Union of Students (1976–1979)
• Political adviser to the ÖVP (1979–1980)
• First Vice-Chairman of the Austrian Federal Youth Association (1980–1990)
• Federal Chairman of the Young ÖVP (1981–1990)
• Member of the national executive of the ÖVP (1981–1991)
• Secretary-General of the ÖVP (1995–1999)
• Vice-President of the Young European Christian-Democrats (EUJCD) (1981–1990)
• Member of the EPP Bureau and Council (since 1995)
• Member of the steering committee of the European Democrat Union (EDU) (since 1995)
• Member of the National Council (1983–1990)

Member of the European Parliament, 1999–present

Karas has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 1999 European elections. He has since been serving on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. In the past, he has in served as a substitute for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and as member of the temporary committee on policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007–2013. More recently, he joined the Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect in 2015 and the Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion in 2016.

In addition to his committee assignments, Karas has been the chairman of the parliament's delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee since 2014. He previously serves as member of the delegation for relations with Japan and as substitute for the delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China.

Within his political bloc, the centre-right European People's Party Group, Karas served as the group’s spokesperson on economic affairs from 2002 until 2004 and as vice-president and treasurer from 2004 until 2011.

In the European Parliament, Karas has become one of the center-right’s experts on financial regulation. As the rapporteur for the Capital Requirements Directive IV, he played a central role in the parliamentary implementation of capital requirements agreed in the Basel III accords. He helped negotiate a 2013 agreement on an EU-wide cap on bankers' bonuses. Alongside Liêm Hoang Ngoc, he later co-drafted a controversial 2014 report highlighting problems with the European Union-led bail-outs of Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Ireland during the European debt crisis.

In the 2009 European elections, the ÖVP leadership replaced Karas by Ernst Strasser as its lead candidate for the European Parliament; Strasser later had to resign as a consequence of the 2011 cash for influence scandal. Ahead of the 2014 European elections, the ÖVP re-nominated Karas as its lead candidate. At the time, he was considered by Austrian media as a possible successor to Johannes Hahn as Austrian nominee for European Commissioner.

Following the 2014 elections, Karas joined fellow MEPs Sven Giegold, Sylvie Goulard, Sophie in 't Veld and Alessia Mosca in an open letter aimed at exerting pressure on the President of the European Commission and national government leaders during the nominations process to improve the gender balance in the composition of the European Commission.

• Hilfswerk Austria, President (since 1998)
• Political Academy of the Austrian People's Party, Vice-President
• Austrian Society for China Studies (ÖGCF), Member of the Presidium
• Austrian Association of Graduates, Member of the Board
• Institute for Public Social Responsibility, Member of the Board of Trustees
• Kangaroo Group, President (2009-2013), Member of the Board (since 2013)

• 2003 – Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria

Karas is married to Dr. Christa Waldheim-Karas, daughter of Kurt Waldheim and Elisabeth Waldheim.