Josef Klaus (born 1910 Carinthia, died 2001 Vienna) was an Austrian christian-conservative politician of the Peoples Party (ÖVP) and the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) from 1964 to 1970.

Klaus was governor of the Austrian province Salzburg from 1949 to 1961, then became Federal Minister of Finance and Chancellor in a coalition with the Social democrats. This "great coalition" existed from 1945 until 1966, when the ÖVP under Klaus won the elections with a remarkable percentage.

Josef Klaus started a lot of reforms but lost the 1970 election against Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ), who was his successor as Prime Minister. Klaus' predecessors were Alfons Gorbach and Julius Raab, both ÖVP.

Despite his "hard image", Klaus was celebrated at his 90th birthday all over the country. In September 1971 he published his memoires "Macht und Ohnmacht in Österreich", and up to 1995 he frequently lead seminars on political and social themes.