1. Franz Seraph Dinghofer was an Austrian politician, lawyer and judge who served as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice from 1928 to 1938, having previously served as Minister of Justice from 1926 to 1927 and Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 1926 to 1928.
Franz Seraph Dinghofer was born in Ottensheim in Urfahr-Umgebung, Upper Austria on 6 April 1873.
Franz Dinghofer was the second to last of eight children born to Franz Dinghofer and Karoline Grunberger.
Franz Dinghofer's grandfather was an innkeeper and postmaster in Ottensheim, a position which later passed to Dinghofer's father who was the innkeeper from 1867 to 1882 and again from 1885 to 1888; in the office of the Mayor of Ottensheim.
Franz Dinghofer's father had invested in the new company which was formed after the first shareholders had left the original company due to setbacks caused by floods and ice blasts in 1882.
Franz Dinghofer's parents married in 1862, and most of Franz Dinghofer's siblings died in their youth due to disease.
Franz Dinghofer attended the local elementary school from 1879 to 1884 in Ottensheim.
Franz Dinghofer then moved to study at the Gymnasium in Freistadt in 1884, where he graduated from in 1892.
Franz Dinghofer's father died at the age of 54 on 13 August 1890.
Franz Dinghofer served on numerous committees whilst there including the Court of Honor Committee and the Bismarck Celebration Committee in 1895, as well as several other committees.
Franz Dinghofer served as a one-year volunteer with the Tyrolean Kaiserjager regiment before being released due to health concerns, though the exact date of his military service is unknown.
Franz Dinghofer passed his judicial exam in Vienna on 24 November 1898, and in June 1902 transferred to the District Court of Urfahr where he was a judge for civil and criminal matters.
Franz Dinghofer married Cacilia Meindl in the Capuchin Church in Linz on 6 June 1899.
In March 1901, Franz Dinghofer was nominated as a candidate for the municipal council of Linz.
Franz Dinghofer won 360 votes out of an electorate of 1,453, although the turnout was 385.
Franz Dinghofer was reelected in the 1904 election with 277 votes.
Franz Dinghofer joined and served on several more committees as Deputy Mayor: the railway committee, the military tax commission from 1905 to 1909, and the consumption tax committee from 1905 to 1907.
Franz Dinghofer was elected to the Austrian Parliament in 1918.
Franz Dinghofer served as the Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 1925 to 1926 and as Minister of Justice from 1926 to 1928.
Franz Dinghofer later served as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice from 1928 to 1938.
Franz Dinghofer died of liver disease, at the age of 82, on 12 January 1956 in Vienna.
Franz Dinghofer's legacy has been controversial, largely due to his involvement in the Nazi party in later life.