 She was born Karin Miklautsch in Graz, Styria, and, after graduating from law school, became a lawyer with the Carinthian government, where she was appointed head of the Department of Water Law in 1999.In the autumn of 2004, still unknown to most Austrians, Gastinger was nominated by Jörg Haider, the governor of Carinthia, and his Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), as successor to , the Minister of Justice who had just stepped down.Gastinger had never been a member of the Freedom Party, and she remained "parteifrei" on being sworn in as Federal Minister of Justice.