History of Austria wanting to annex the country to the German Third Reich, resulting in the assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. While the coup failed, Adolf Hitler succeeded in annexing Austria on 12 March 1938 as "Ostmark", until 1945. Austria was partitioned after the Second World War and then in 1955 became the independent sovereign state (Second Republic) that has existed to the present day. In 1995, Austria joined the European Union. The modern state of Austria is considered to have three geographic zones. The biggest third consists of the Alps, which covers 62.8% of the country's landmass. In the north, across the
Chancellor of Austria the President's consent to implement greater decisions. Furthermore neither the Ministers nor the Vice-Chancellor report to the Chancellor, or can even be dismissed by him. In legislature the Chancellor's actual power depends on the size of his affiliated parliamentary group. In case of a coalition government, the Chancellor commonly is the leader of the party most represented in the National Council, with the leader of the party able to grant a majority, usually serving as the Vice-Chancellor. In a majority government with only one ruling party, the Chancellor could be seen as the nation's most powerful person. The first Austrian