Margot Klestil-Löffler is an Austrian diplomat and the widow of Thomas Klestil

Thomas Klestil

Thomas Klestil was an Austrian diplomat and politician. He was elected the tenth President of Austria in 1992 and was re-elected to the position in 1998...

, the former federal president of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. Her parents, Karl Löffler and Gerda Löffler, were farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

s.

Margot Löffler was born in Dobersberg

Dobersberg

Dobersberg is a municipality in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya in Lower Austria, Austria....

, Lower Austria

Lower Austria

Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...

. After her diplomatic career in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 and Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, she joined Thomas Klestil's office, who was by that time general secretary in the Austrian ministry of foreign affairs. When Thomas Klestil ran for the presidency in 1992, she was managing his election campaign.

During his first term of office, it became public that they had a love affair. Thomas Klestil divorced his first wife Edith

Edith Klestil

Edith Klestil was the first wife of Thomas Klestil, the former federal president of Austria....

  and married Margot Löffler on 23 December 1998. She became the country's first lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

, but continued her job in the foreign ministry, which led to the strange situation that she was ranking higher than her former boss, foreign minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner is an Austrian diplomat and politician, and a member of the conservative Austrian People's Party . Ferrero-Waldner served as the Foreign Minister of Austria 2000–2004 and was the candidate of the Austrian People's Party in the Austrian presidential election, 2004, which...

, on state visits or other official occasions.

When Thomas Klestil died in office on 6 July 2004, both his wives attended the funeral service held in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, brusqued Klestil's second wife by welcoming Edith first.

After her husband's death on 6 July 2004, she was appointed Austrian ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. Since December 2009, she has been Austrian ambassador to the Russian Federation

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Mrs Klestil-Löffler speaks German, English, French, Russian and Czech.