Federal Minister of Environment, Austria
Grown up on his parents’ farm in a rural area, his close relation to nature has decisively influenced his career. After school Niki Berlakovich studied at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, branch of study: agriculture. In 1991 he became the youngest delegate to the Provincial Parliament of the Federal Province of Burgenland, where he also took over the office of Provincial Councillor for Agriculture, Forestry, Water and Waste Management in 2005.
Since December 2008 he has been in office as the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and has continued to push forward further implementations of Austria’s Masterplan Cycling. With his Cycling Conferences Tour in 2009 and the first electric bicycle race up the Grossglockner High Alpine Road he co-initiated the electric bicycle boom in Austria and has inspired a wider cycling discussion among stakeholders. This is also a reason for the increase in the share of cycling from 5% to 7% shown by the mid-term evaluation of Masterplan Cycling 2011. Niki Berlakovich is married, has two children, and lives in Nebersdorf, the community of Großwarasdorf.
