Franz Dinghofer

Franz Seraph Dinghofer (6 April 1873 – 12 January 1956) was an Austrian politician, lawyer and judge who served as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice from 1928 to 1938, having previously served as Minister of Justice from 1926 to 1927 and Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 1926 to 1928.

Early life and education Franz Seraph Dinghofer was born in Ottensheim in Urfahr-Umgebung, Upper Austria on 6 April 1873. His grandfather, Franz Dinghofer, was from Waidhofen an der Ybbs and served as the last judge of the Ottensheim market from 1842 to 1847. He then moved to study at the Gymnasium in Freistadt in 1884, where he graduated from in 1892. He passed his judicial exam in Vienna on 24 November 1898, and in June 1902 transferred to the District Court of Urfahr where he was a judge for civil and criminal matters.

In Parliament (1918–1926)

He was elected to the Austrian Parliament in 1918.

Supreme court president (1928–1938) He later served as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice from 1928 to 1938.

Later life and death (1938–1956) Dinghofer joined the Nazi Party on 1 July 1940.

He died of liver disease, at the age of 82, on 12 January 1956 in Vienna.

Legacy Dinghofer's legacy is highly controversial because of his allegiance to the Third Reich and

In 2025, a Dinghofer conference organized by Walter Rosenkranz at the Austrian Parliament drew strong criticism from public intellectuals in Austria. The event was rejected by all Austrian political parties represented in parliament with the exception of the FPÖ. A civil society panel discussion was counter-conducted.