Claudia Bauer, born as Claudia Plakolm in 1994 in Linz, has served as Austria’s Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Family since March 2025. Elected to the Austrian National Council in 2017 at the age of 22, she was the youngest member of parliament at the time. From 2021 to 2025, she served as State Secretary at the Federal Chancellery, initially responsible for youth affairs and later also for civilian service and digitalisation. Since 2021, she has also chaired the Young People’s Party (Junge ÖVP).