Fredy Mayer

Fredy Mayer, former member of the Vorarlberg government, was active in health policy long before being named deputy chairman of the FGÖ Board in 1998. A banker by training, Mayer was appointed Vorarlberg Minister of Social Services and Health in 1974 and held that post for nearly 20 years, contributing to the field in a wide variety of ways. He has been president of the Austrian Red Cross since 1999. He explained his motivation for his high level involvement in FGÖ as follows:

"Concerted efforts in prevention have succeeded in bringing the most dangerous infective diseases under control. Yet diseases associated with our modern way of life are on the rise, e.g. cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, mental illnesses and addiction. Health promotion will play a pivotal role in future developments, but not just from a financial perspective. It will also be a strategic planning and control instrument for health and social policy, not only to repair and respond but also to assure constantly proactive and innovative activities. FGÖ provides a fine platform for this purpose."