Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
 | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (February 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Lombard. (February 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| Hans-Adam II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hans-Adam in 2013 | |||||
| Prince of Liechtenstein | |||||
| Reign | 13 November 1989 – present | ||||
| Predecessor | Franz Joseph II | ||||
| Heir apparent | Alois | ||||
| Regent | Alois (2004–present) | ||||
| Prime Ministers | |||||
| Born | 14 February 1945 Zürich, Switzerland | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail |
| ||||
| |||||
| House | Liechtenstein | ||||
| Father | Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein | ||||
| Mother | Georgina von Wilczek | ||||
| Religion | Catholic | ||||
Hans-Adam II (Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marco d'Aviano Pius; born 14 February 1945) is the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, since 1989. He is the son of Prince Franz Joseph II and his wife, Countess Georgina von Wilczek. He also bears the titles Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, and Count of Rietberg.
Early life
_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg)
He was born on 14 February 1945 in Zürich, Switzerland, as the eldest son of Prince Franz Joseph II and Princess Gina of Liechtenstein,[1] with his godfather being Pope Pius XII. His father had succeeded as Prince of Liechtenstein in 1938 upon the death of his childless grand-uncle, Prince Franz I, and Hans-Adam was thus hereditary prince from birth.
In 1956, he entered the Schottengymnasium in Vienna. In 1960, he transferred to the Lyceum Alpinium Zuoz in Switzerland, earning a Swiss Matura and a German Abitur in 1965. He then worked as a bank trainee in London before enrolling at the University of St. Gallen to study business administration, graduating with a licentiate in 1969. He is fluent in English and French in addition to his native German.[2]
In 1984, Prince Franz Joseph II, while legally remaining head of state and retaining the title of sovereign prince, formally handed the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions to his eldest son as a way of beginning a dynastic transition to a new generation. Hans-Adam formally succeeded as Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father on 13 November 1989.[3]
Powers
A referendum to adopt Hans-Adam's revision of the Constitution of Liechtenstein to expand his powers passed in 2003. The prince had threatened to resign and leave the country if the referendum did not result in his favour.[4]
On 15 August 2004, Hans-Adam formally handed the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions to his eldest son Hereditary Prince Alois as regent, as a way of beginning a dynastic transition to a new generation. Legally, Hans-Adam remains the head of state.[5] Hans-Adam's father Franz Joseph II had similarly done so on 26 August 1984.
In a July 2012 referendum, the people of Liechtenstein overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to curtail the political power of the princely family. A few days before the vote, Hereditary Prince Alois announced he would veto any relaxing of the ban on abortion, also up for referendum. 76 per cent of those voting in the first referendum supported Alois' power to veto the outcome of future referendums.[6] Legislators, who serve on a part-time basis, rose in the hereditary prince's defence on 23 May, voting 18 to 7 against the citizens' initiative.[7]
Personal wealth
Hans-Adam II owns the banking group LGT, and as of 2003 had a family fortune of US$7.6 billion and a personal fortune of about US$4 billion,[8] making him one of the world's richest heads of state, and Europe's wealthiest monarch.[9] He owns an extensive art collection, much of which is displayed for the public at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. As of July 2022, his net worth was estimated by Bloomberg Billionaires Index around US$6.20 billion, making him the 380th richest person on earth. [10]
Personal life
| Princely family of Liechtenstein |
|---|
 |
|
On 30 July 1967, at St. Florin's in Vaduz, he married his second cousin once-removed Countess Marie Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. They have four children: Hereditary Prince Alois, Prince Maximilian, Prince Constantin, and Princess Tatjana (also known after marriage as Tatjana von Lattorff).[11] They remained married until her death on 21 August 2021, at the age of 81.
The Prince is an honorary member of K.D.St.V. Nordgau Prag Stuttgart, a Catholic students' fraternity that is a member of the Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen.
The Prince donated $12 million in 2000 to found the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD) at Princeton University's Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.[12][13] In his childhood he joined the Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Liechtensteins in Vaduz.[14] He is also a former member of the Viennese Scout Group "Wien 16-Schotten".[15] He is a member of the World Scout Foundation.[16]
Viewpoints and book
Hans-Adam has written the political treatise The State in the Third Millennium (ISBN 9783905881042), which was published in late 2009. In it, he argues for the continued importance of the nation-state as a political actor. He makes the case for democracy as the best form of government, which he sees China and Russia as in transition towards, although the path will be difficult for these nations. He also declared his role in a princely family as something that has legitimacy only from the assent of the people. He stated that government should be limited to a small set of tasks and abilities, writing that people "have to free the state from all the unnecessary tasks and burdens with which it has been loaded during the last hundred years, which have distracted it from its two main tasks: maintenance of the rule of law and foreign policy".[17] Hans-Adam is a friend of the German anarcho-capitalist economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe.[18]
Hans-Adam wrote to the foreword to a Sourcebook, on Self-Determination and Self-Administration, which was edited by Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber and Arthur Watts (ISBN 1-55587-786-9, 1997), and in the Encyclopedia Princetoniensis.[19]
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
- 14 February 1945 – 13 November 1989: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
- 13 November 1989 – present: His Serene Highness The Prince of Liechtenstein
The official title of the monarch is "Prince of Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg, Sovereign of the House of Liechtenstein" (German: Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein, Herzog von Troppau und Jägerndorf, Graf zu Rietberg, Regierer des Hauses von und zu Liechtenstein).[20]
Honours and awards
Foreign
- Austria
Austrian-Hungarian Imperial and Royal family: 1,305th Knight with Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece[21]
Austria: Grand Cross of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Grand Star[22]
Bavarian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Hubert
Awards
- Austria: Honorary degree of the University of Innsbruck[23]
Romania: Honorary degree of the Babeș-Bolyai University[24]
See also
- Line of succession to the Liechtensteiner throne
- List of monarchs of Liechtenstein
- Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation
- Princely Family of Liechtenstein
References
- ^ "H.S.H. Prince Hans Adam II | Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination". lisd.princeton.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ admin (30 March 2021). "H.S.H. Prince Hans-Adam II | Das Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein". Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ Pendleton, Devon (26 October 2017). "The Richest Royal in Europe Just Keeps Getting Richer". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Liechtenstein prince wins powers BBC News Online, 16 March 2003. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
- ^ Country profile: Liechtenstein – Leaders BBC News, 6 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
- ^ Foulkes, Imogen. (1 July 2012) BBC News – Liechtenstein referendum rejects curbs on royal powers. BBC News.
- ^ The Prince vs. the 'Paupers' – By Michael Z. Wise Archived 9 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Foreign Policy (29 June 2012).
- ^ Fleck, Fiona (17 March 2003). "Voters give billionaire prince new powers". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ Liechtenstein redraws Europe map BBC News Online, 28 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
- ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Prince Hans Adam II". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "SOS KINDERDORF". SOS Villages Liechtenstein. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
I.D. Tatjana von Lattorff. Our patroness: Princess of Liechtenstein
- ^ Bloom, Molly. (12 December 2000) Opening of Liechtenstein institute draws international dignitaries. The Daily Princetonian
- ^ Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University Mission & Outreach: The Liechtenstein Institute (retrieved 23 January 2015)
- ^ Fürst Hans-Adam II. Archived 23 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 29 January 2008.
- ^ Brósch-Fohraheim, Eugen (October 2008). "Schwedischer König als Pfadfinder in Wien-Zusammenkunft der "Weltpfadfinderstiftung" in Wien 2008". 29 Live (in German): 21.
- ^ Seine Majestät Carl XVI Gustaf König von Schweden zu Gast in Wien Archived 11 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 29 October 2008.
- ^ "H.S.H. Prince Hans-Adam II – The State in the Third Millennium". Uncommon Knowledge. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ Woods, Tom. "Ep. 979 Liechtenstein: The Closest Thing to a Libertarian Country?". Tomwoods.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Encyclopedia Princetoniensis: The Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination (PESD) - Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination". lisd.princeton.edu.
- ^ "Hausgesetz". Fuerstenhaus.li. Sekretariat Seiner Durchlaucht des Fürsten von Liechtenstein. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Johannes Adam II, Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein, * 1945 - Geneall.net". www.geneall.net.
- ^ Parliamentary question, page=903.
- ^ "Uni Innsbruck ehrt verdiente Persönlichkeiten". www.uibk.ac.at.
- ^ "Principele Suveran de Liechtenstein, omagiat la Cluj - Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". www.romaniaregala.ro.
External links
- Official website
- 2004: Royal power handover – Prince Alois says democracy still strong Real Audio sound file from the BBC.
- Interview with Peter Robinson of Uncommon Knowledge
- Web archive
| Africa | |
|---|---|
| Americas | |
| Asia | |
| Europe | |
| Oceania | |
| |
- Webarchive template wayback links
- CS1 German-language sources (de)
- Articles with short description
- EngvarB from November 2013
- Use dmy dates from May 2020
- Articles needing translation from German Wikipedia
- Articles needing translation from Lombard Wikipedia
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Official website not in Wikidata
- AC with 0 elements
- 1945 births
- 20th-century Roman Catholics
- 21st-century Roman Catholics
- Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
- Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- Liechtenstein Roman Catholics
- Living people
- Princes of Liechtenstein
- Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
- University of St. Gallen alumni
- Liechtenstein people of Polish descent
- Liechtenstein billionaires