Austria appoints Jordanian-Austrian Omar Hijjawi as new security chief

A security official of Jordanian descent has been picked to lead the country's state security and intelligence department over his performance during the Vienna attack last year.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab Staff

17 September, 2021

Hajjawi was appointed head as Austria's state security and intelligence division [Anadolu Agency/Getty]

Omar Hijjawi, an Austrian security official of Jordanian descent, was appointed as Austria’s new director of state security and intelligence on Thursday.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehmer approved the appointment of Hijjawi, 42, after conducting extensive security checks on the candidates for the role, according to a ministry statement.

Born in Austria, Hijjawi has been head of the Lower Austria State Criminal Police Office since 2017 and was recommended by senior security chiefs over his performance during the attack in Vienna last November.

Convicted Islamic State sympathiser Kujtim Fejzulai killed four people on the evening of November 2 before being shot dead by police, in the first major attack in Austria for decades and the first blamed on a jihadist.

Hijjawi is the son of a Jordanian doctor who immigrated to Austria for his studies and married an Austrian woman.