In Memoriam: Evelyn Dürmayer

March 31st 1946 in Vienna, † March 22nd 2026 in Buenos Aires


We mourn the loss of our friend Evelyn Dürmayer. She attended the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. She was then travelling to Buenos Aires, where she passed away unexpectedly shortly before her 80th birthday.
 
Evelyn was active, committed, loved to travel, and lived life to the full. Her sudden death is shocking; it has left us stunned and deeply saddened. Evelyn had served as deputy chair of the board of the Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Club since 2020. She was very present and engaged, attended our team meetings, and shared stories of her international contacts and political activism. Everyone appreciated her generous, calming personality, and her delicious cakes were a highlight of the buffets at our events.

Evelyn grew up in Vienna as the cherished child of her parents, who had met under dramatic circumstances in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Her mother, Janka (née Kahan), was Jewish; her father, Heinrich Dürmayer, was a political prisoner who had fought in the resistance against Austrofascism and National Socialism.

Evelyn trained as a lawyer and, after completing her PhD at the University of Vienna, practised as a solicitor specialising in employment and commercial law in Vienna from 1976 to 2011. Her further studies in French and gender studies made her a leading interdisciplinary expert. This led to a further dissertation focusing on French as the sole working language at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to your daughter.
We remember Evelyn and honour her dedication and legacy – we miss you!  

Christine Zwingl
Chair of the Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Club, on behalf of the association
30 March 2026
 
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