2016: Reinhold Melas and the Austrian Social Security

The project concerned the role and influence of the first CEO of the Main Association of Austrian Social Security Organizations, Reinhold Melas, on the Austrian social insurance system.

Born in 1900, Melas started his career within social insurance institutions in 1927. Due to his outstanding legal skills, he rapidly gained a leading position. However, due to his social democratic convictions, Melas was degraded by the authoritarian corporate state ("Ständestaat") and the national socialist regime.

Soon after the breakdown of the national socialist regime in April 1945, Melas was in the front line when the first umbrella organization of Austrian social insurance institutions, the predecessor of the Main Association, was founded. Melas was a key person in the reorganisation and the development of the social security system, in Austria, during the first 25 years following the Second World War.

Melas also highly contributed to the evolution of the Main Association in the first 25 years after the Second World War. Moreover, his role was outstanding in the creation of the General Social Insurance Act in 1955, initiating and formulating the draft which was used as the basis for the Act. Afterwards, Melas served as a leading figure in the development of the social insurance system, especially concerning the financing of the health care system and the adaptation of the pension scheme.

Consequently, Melas is described as one of the most influential persons for the Austrian social insurance system from 1945 to 1970, a time in which Austrian social insurance structures were shaped and rebuilt. Thus Melas has left a significant mark, still present in contemporary times.