Dr Walter Schwimmer, of the Austrian People's Party, has been elected as the new secretary general of the Council of Europe, for a term of five years.
He defeated the British Labour Party candidate by 138 to 136 votes in the council's parliamentary assembly. He has been a member of the Austrian parliamentary delegation to the council since 1990.
He has concentrated recently on the accession of new members from central and eastern Europe, especially on human rights, social policy and economic development.