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 Switzerland often referred to as that of an 'eighth Federal Councillor'. The chancellery is also responsible for the publication of all federal laws. Chancellor of Switzerland The Federal Chancellor (; ; ; ) is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, which acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Council. The Swiss Chancellor is not a member of the government, and the office of Chancellor is not at all comparable to that of the Chancellors of Germany or the Chancellor of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is elected for a four-year term by the Federal Assembly, assembled together as