Like no other contemporary politician, Bruno Kreisky represents the foreign policy of the Second Republic of Austria. Beginning as a State Secretary, then as Foreign Minister and finally as Federal Chancellor, he shaped Austria's policy of neutrality and was internationally respected for the impact he made with his Near East policy. Kreisky's interest in international politics can be explained by his biographical background. During Kreisky's early childhood Austria was still a monarchy; he later witnessed the crisis-ridden First Republic and the authoritarian Dollfuß/Schuschnigg regime. In 1938 he was forced into Swedish exile. The author traces Kreisky's life course and the development of foreign policy issues and their implementation. As a consequence of his experiences, Kreisky sought to give the small state of Austria a new profile in international relations. He emphasized a policy of identity, drawing on a re-evaluation of history and thereby integrating his own life course as a leitmotif. Despite the opposition with which he was confronted as both a Jew and an emigrant, he nevertheless became an Austrian monument. His international mission established Austrian identity in the world.