The Austrian presidential election of 1998 was won by the incumbent president

President of Austria

The President of Austria is the federal head of state of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the constitution, in practice the President acts, for the most part, merely as a ceremonial figurehead...

 Thomas Klestil

Thomas Klestil

Thomas Klestil was an Austrian diplomat and politician. He was elected the tenth President of Austria in 1992 and was re-elected to the position in 1998...

, who sought re-election as an independent candidate. The Austrian People's Party

Austrian People's Party

The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...

, who had originally put him up in 1992

Austrian presidential election, 1992

In the Austrian presidential election of 1992, incumbent Kurt Waldheim did not seek reelection, since he did not gain acceptance in the international community....

, reluctantly supported him again, while the Austrian Social Democratic Party and the Austrian Freedom Party did not propose any competing candidates. Klestils competitors were Heide Schmidt

Heide Schmidt

Heide Schmidt is an Austrian politician.A lawyer and formerly a prominent member of Jörg Haider's Austrian Freedom Party , in 1993 Schmidt was one of a group of politicians who, because of Haider's increasingly right-wing verbal politics, seceded from the FPÖ and founded the Liberal Forum.From...

, leader of the Liberal Forum

Liberal Forum

The Liberal Forum is a small classical liberal party in Austria. The party is currently led by Angelika Mlinar, and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.-Founding:...

, Gertraud Knoll, the former Lutheran superintendent

Superintendent (ecclesiastical)

Superintendent is the head of an administrative division of a Protestant church, largely historical but still in use in Germany.- Superintendents in Sweden :...

 of Burgenland

Burgenland

Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...

 (supported by the Greens

Austrian Green Party

The Greens – The Green Alternative is a political party in the Austrian parliament.The party was formed in 1986 with the name Grüne Alternative, following the merger of the more conservative Green party Vereinte Grüne Österreichs and the more progressive party Alternative Liste Österreichs The...

), socialite Richard Lugner

Richard Lugner

Richard Lugner is a successful Austrian entrepreneur in the construction industry, a Viennese society figure, and a former political candidate not affiliated with any of the Austrian political parties. Since August 2, 2007, he has been divorced from Christina Lugner...

 and Karl Walter Nowak.