Statistics expert and former ‘supercomputer of the nation’ Gerhart Bruckmann has died. As his family announced, he died this weekend at the age of 92. The first election projections were carried out in 1966 using a model he developed.
For twenty years, until 1986, Bruckmann worked as a projector and commentator at all ORF elections. He then moved to the National Council as a representative of the ÖVP, where he acted as a senior spokesperson for the People’s Party.
Bruckmann was born in Vienna on January 9, 1932 and, after working for a long time at the Chamber of Commerce, started an academic career. In 1966 he completed his habilitation in statistics at the University of Vienna. He subsequently held a professorship at the University of Linz for a year before returning to the University of Vienna as a professor in 1968.
Was head of the IHS until 1973
In the same year, Bruckmann was appointed director of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), which he headed until 1973. In 1972 he also became a full member of the philosophical-historical class of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The scientist was best known for his appearances on election days at ORF. When it premiered in the 1966 National Council elections, the extrapolation system he developed was already effective; the distribution of the mandates calculated with this actually corresponded to the provisional final result announced that evening.
Worked for the People’s Party in the National Council
Until 1986, Bruckmann was responsible for all ORF projections, which he also moderated himself. He then switched fronts and became a member of the National Council for the ÖVP, where he initially served until 1994 and then from 1999 to 2002.
Before the ÖVP, Bruckmann was spokesperson for science, environment and, most recently, senior spokesperson in parliament. At the age of 70, he retired from active politics in 2002.
Source: Krone
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