The Libertas Council is honored to welcome MP Dr. Gudrun Kugler as an inaugural Global Libertas Fellow. The Global Libertas Fellowship is a three-year Fellowship equipping legislators, diplomats, survivors, business leaders, and thought leaders with tools and practical solutions to advance freedom and flourishing. Working with the Libertas Council’s experienced team, the Global Libertas Fellows build strategic, solutions-oriented plans to generate measurable results in the fight against human trafficking or advancing democracy.
MP Dr. Kugler is a Member of the Austrian Parliament for the Austrian People’s Party, a position she has served in since 2017 with multiple reelections. Prior to this, MP Dr. Kugler was a member of Vienna’s Regional Parliament and covered human rights, European affairs, and integration of refugees and migrants. MP Dr. Kugler also serves as Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), where, in addition, she is Special Representative on Demographic Change and Security. She holds a PhD in international law.
MP Dr. Kugler is a spokesperson for human rights and has been actively involved in combating human trafficking since 2015. Her parliamentary initiatives in Austria include addressing human rights abuses, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, as well as anti-trafficking measures.
MP Dr. Kugler is married, and the mother of four teenagers.
As a Global Libertas Fellow, MP Dr. Kugler’s first initiative is the development of guidelines addressing technology-facilitated trafficking within Europe. The goal is to establish common, exemplary guidelines to help countries create a “safe, predictable, trusted online environment” (2024 Digital Services Act), hold traffickers (individuals and companies benefiting from human trafficking) accountable, and protect survivors. More information on this anti-trafficking initiative is available here and here.
Image of Gudrun Kugler: © Parlamentsdirektion PHOTO SIMONIS