Ignaz Seipel (19 July 1876 - 2 August 1932) was an Austrian politician who served as Chancellor during the 1920s.

Ordained a Catholic priest, he held a Ph.D. in political science. He was a member of the Christian Socialist Party established by Vienna mayor Karl Lueger and served as cabinet secretary in the Austro-Hungarian government during World War I.

After the war he established a new Christian Socialist Party, now operating - the empire having been lost - in Austria alone. He served as Austrian Chancellor from 1922 until 1924 and again between 1926 and 1929. His main policy was the encouragement of cooperation between wealthy industrialists and the paramilitary units of the Heimwehr. This led to an increase in street violence, culminating in the 15 July massacre of 1927.

In the field of external affairs, he signed the League of Nations Protocol for the reconstruction of Austria (4 October 1922) and secured an agreement with the government of Italy for the co-ordination of foreign policy.

References

• Ignaz Seipel: Christian statesman in a time of crisis by Klemens Von Klemperer (Princeton University Press, 1972, ISBN 0691051976)
• Fascist Movements in Austria : from Schönerer to Hitler by F. L. (Francis Ludwig) Carsten (London, 1977, ISBN 0803999925, ISBN 0803998570)