FILE Austria's president in critical condition following heart failure скачать в хорошем качестве

FILE Austria's president in critical condition following heart failure

(5 Jul 2004) POOL (FILE:) Vienna, Austria, 4 January 2000 1. Austrian President Thomas Klestil addressing the nation 2. Klestil meeting cabinet 3. Klestil speaking to cabinet 4. Klestil shaking hands with members of cabinet APTN (FILE:) Brussels, Belgium, 7 March 2000 5. Klestil entering airport and approaching media 6. Klestil talking to media 7. Klestil leaving STORYLINE: Austrian President Thomas Klestil was in critical condition on Monday after being rushed to a hospital following heart failure. Security guards at Klestil's suburban Vienna home used a defibrillator to revive the 71-year-old president and he was flown by helicopter to Vienna's General Hospital. Klestil's second and last six-year term ends on Thursday, when Heinz Fischer takes over as president. Hospital director Reinhard Krepler told a news conference that Klestil remained in critical condition. He said Klestil had been moved from the emergency room to an intensive care station where he was the only patient. Doctors slightly reduced Klestil's body temperature and sedated him to lessen the burden on his heart and lungs. Klestil's life remained in danger and he would need to spend at least 14 days sedated, hospital officials said. Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel was temporarily taking over the presidential duties because of Klestil's illness. Klestil suffered from a severe case of pneumonia in 1996, and his lung problems turned serious again in recent days. A career diplomat who earlier served as Austria's ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations, Klestil was widely credited with helping restore Austria's credibility following a controversy over the Nazi German wartime service of his predecessor, Kurt Waldheim. A packed schedule for the president's last days in office was cancelled. While the post is mostly ceremonial, the Austrian president is commander in chief of the country's military. The constitution also gives the president the power to reject nominations for Cabinet ministers or even to remove them from office, something that has rarely been done. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...