Thomas Klestil (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːmas ˈklɛstɪl] ⓘ; 4 November 1932 – 6 July 2004) was an Austrian diplomat and politician who served as the president of Austria from 1992 until his death in 2004.

Born in Vienna to a working class family — his father was a tramway employee — Klestil went to school in Landstraße where he made friends with Joe Zawinul.

[2] After being nominated by the conservative Austrian People's Party to run for president, he succeeded Kurt Waldheim on 8 July 1992.

[citation needed] As a matter of fact, the Austrian constitution gives far-reaching powers to the president, but these had never been exercised by any of Klestil's predecessors.

He died on 6 July at 23:33 local time at the AKH (Allgemeines Krankenhaus – General Hospital) in Vienna from multiple organ failure.