Hans-Adam II.
Hans-Adam II. (Full name: Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marco d'Aviano Pius Prince von und zu Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf , Count of Rietberg , ruler of the House of von und zu Liechtenstein; * February 14, 1945 in Zurich , Switzerland ) is Prince and Head of State of Liechtenstein and Head of the Princely House of Liechtenstein . Since 2004, however, his son Alois has been in charge of government.
biography
| Princely Liechtenstein family |
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SD Prince Hans-Adam II.
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childhood and education
Hans-Adam II was born in Zurich in 1945 as the son of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein (1906–1989) and his wife, Princess Gina (1921–1989). It got its name after his ancestor Prince Johann Adam Andreas (Hans-Adam I.) and after his godfather Pope Pius XII . He grew up with his parents in the Princely House in Vaduz and graduated from elementary school in Vaduz before going to the Schottengymnasium in Vienna . In 1960 he went to Zuoz to the Lyceum Alpinum high school , where he graduated with the Swiss Matura and the German Abitur . He then completed an internship at a bank in London . In 1969 he graduated from the University of St. Gallen with a degree in business and economics.
marriage and family
On July 30, 1967, the then Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam married Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau in the Catholic parish church of St. Florin in Vaduz . The marriage gave birth to four children who were named Prince (Princess) von und zu Liechtenstein, Graf (Countess) von Rietberg and were addressed as Your Highness :
- Hereditary Prince Alois (* 1968) is married to Sophie Duchess in Bavaria (* 1967). You have four children:
- Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria (* May 24, 1995)
- Marie Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata (born October 17, 1996)
- Georg Antonius Constantin Maria (born April 20, 1999)
- Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria (born December 6, 2000).
- Prince Maximilian (* 1969) is married to Angela Brown (* 1958). You have a son:
- Alfons Constantin Maria (born May 18, 2001).
- Prince Constantin (* 1972) is married to Countess Marie Kálnoky von Kőröspatak (* 1974). They have two sons and a daughter:
- Moritz Emanuel Maria (born May 27, 2003)
- Georgina Maximiliana Tatiana Maria (born July 23, 2005)
- Benedikt Ferdinand Hubertus Maria (* May 18, 2008).
- Princess Tatjana von und zu Liechtenstein (* 1973) is married to Philipp von Lattorff (* 1968). They have seven children:
- Lukas Maria (born May 13, 2000)
- Elisabeth Marie Angela (born January 25, 2002)
- Marie Teresa (born January 18, 2004)
- Camilla Maria Katharina (born November 14, 2005)
- Anna Pia Theresia Maria (born August 3, 2007)
- Sophie Katharina Maria (born October 30, 2009)
- Maximilian Maria (born December 17, 2011)
Official duties
In 1984 he was appointed his father's deputy. After his death, Hans-Adam II took over the government in 1989. Under his leadership, Liechtenstein joined the United Nations and the EEA .
In 2003, a proposal by the prince for the new Liechtenstein constitution was described by many critics as a step backwards into absolutism . However, the majority of the population (64.3%) approved the proposal in a referendum . Hans-Adam's statement in the election campaign that he would leave the country for Vienna if the referendum was defeated , and his indirect comparison of the critics of the proposal with the Liechtenstein supporters of the Third Reich , which he made during the throne speech at the opening of Parliament , also caused a stir internationally . On August 15, 2004, he appointed his son Alois as his deputy and handed over the affairs of state to him.
Hans-Adam II is an honorary member of the Catholic Austrian University Association Nordgau Vienna in the ÖCV and the Catholic German Student Association Nordgau-Prague to Koblenz in the CV . In addition, he is honorary protector of the Liechtenstein Academic Association Rheinmark and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria. He is a member of the Friedrich A. von Hayek Society and receives the European Charlemagne Prize of the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft in 2016 .
Title, salutation and coat of arms
According to the Liechtenstein house law, the full title of Hans-Adams II is:
Prince von und zu Liechtenstein, Duke von Troppau and Jägerndorf , Count zu Rietberg , ruler of the House of Liechtenstein.
All members of the house have the salutation of Highness and bear the coat of arms of the Princely Family.
capital
Since the expropriation of the Liechtenstein family in Czechoslovakia in 1945 by the decrees of Edvard Beneš , the Moravian possessions remained in the ownership of the first Czechoslovak, later the Czech state. All political and judicial efforts of Prince Hans Adam II - after the end of the communist dictatorship in 1990 - to return the expropriated property (in addition to the Feldsberg , Eisgrub and Groß Ullersdorf castles, another 14 castles, 1,600 square kilometers of land - i.e. 2% of the total area The Czech Republic and ten times the area of Liechtenstein - as well as various industrial companies) failed due to the resistance of the Czech government, which even denied the Principality of Liechtenstein diplomatic recognition as a state in order to maintain Beneš's legal position.
At the same time, Prince Hans-Adam II is distinguished by his great business acumen and restored the solid economic basis of his house, which had suffered so severely from the expropriations in Czechoslovakia in 1945 that the famous art collection was also temporarily used under the reign of his father "Nest egg" had to serve and the family, as Hans-Adam put it, "looked forward to bankruptcy". He succeeded in doing this primarily through the expansion of the small bank in Liechtenstein to become the private bank LGT Group , which he had oriented internationally before he ascended to the throne and made it an important bank. Since then he has also been able to supplement the art collection with acquisitions, the main Baroque works of which he made accessible to the public in the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna in 2004 ; the 19th century collection is housed in the Liechtenstein City Palace; other parts of the collection are shown in temporary exhibitions in the Liechtenstein Art Museum .
The assets of the Princely House, which in addition to real estate and property in Austria primarily include the LGT Bank, are held by the Prince Liechtenstein Foundation and are estimated to amount to several billion francs . With assets 5 billion dollars Hans-Adam II's sixth-richest monarch. Worldwide.
Quotes
On German-Liechtenstein relations
"As far as German-Liechtenstein relations are concerned, we are waiting for better times here, although I am confident, because in the past two hundred years we have survived three German empires, and I hope we will survive a fourth as well."
To banking secrecy
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“Germany in particular has to be countered by saying that we and Switzerland saved the lives of many people, especially Jews, with banking secrecy. Germany should take its own nose and think about its past. Some of the families were able to buy their way out with the money they had in Switzerland or Liechtenstein and thus save themselves. It was similar in communist states, banking secrecy saved lives and is still saving lives today. I am thinking of some third world countries, some of which are ruled by bloodthirsty dictatorships. In addition, Germany and many other countries have an incredible mess with their public finances. You have to fix these first. Up to now they have been unable to do this. The financial crash is largely due to this terrifying inability. I am sometimes accused of not being diplomatic enough. But in my experience, such people only understand clear language. "
To the state
"It would be a great success if mankind succeeded in the third millennium in transforming all states into service companies that serve people on the basis of direct and indirect democracy and the right to self-determination at community level."
ancestors
| Pedigree of Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein | ||||||||
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| Great-great-grandparents |
Prince |
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Archduke |
King |
Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek |
Prince Ferdinand Bonaventura Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau |
Count Johann-Baptist Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau |
Count |
| Great-grandparents |
Prince Alfred von und zu Liechtenstein |
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria |
Count Joseph von Wilczek |
Count Zdenko Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau |
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| Grandparents |
Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein (1869–1955) |
Count Ferdinand von Wilczek (1893–1977) |
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| parents |
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Works
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The state in the third millennium . van Eck Verlag, Triesen 2009. ISBN 978-3-905881-03-5 .
- English language edition: The State in the Third Millennium . van Eck Verlag, Triesen 2009. ISBN 978-3-905881-04-2 .
literature
- Editor HLFL: Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. Von. In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein .
- Who is who - who does what. Handbook for the Principality of Liechtenstein . Frank P. van Eck Publishing House 1995, pages VII – IX: Biographies of the Princely Family .
- Deutsches Adelsarchiv eV (Hrsg.): Genealogical manual of the nobility (GHdA). Genealogical manual of the Princely Houses. Princely Houses Volume XIV . C. A. Starke Verlag Limburg a. d. Lahn, 1991, (GHdA Volume 100), pp. 65-84.
- Wilhelm Karl Prince of Isenburg: Family tables on the history of the European states. Volume I. The German States . 2nd improved edition. J. A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg 1953, plates 175-179.
- Detlef Schwennicke (Ed.): European family tables. Family tables on the history of the European states. New episode (EST NF), Volume III / 1 . J. A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg, (EST NF III / 1) panels 30-39.
- Norbert Jansen: Franz Josef II. Ruling prince from and to Liechtenstein. Festschrift for the 40th anniversary of the government S. D. Official Lehrmittelverlag, Vaduz 1978. (multilingual edition German-English-French).
- Harald Wanger: The ruling princes of Liechtenstein . Frank P. van Eck Publishing House, Triesen 1995, ISBN 3-905501-22-8 .
- Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein of October 5, 1921 . In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt, year 1921, No. 15, edition of October 24, 1921.
- Constitutional Act of June 28, 1984 supplementing and amending the Constitution of October 5, 1921 (establishment of a representative) . In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt, year 1984, No. 28, edition of August 18, 1984.
- House law of the Princely House of Liechtenstein of October 26, 1993 . In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt, year 1993, No. 100, edition dated December 6, 1993.
- Hans-Adam II. In the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
Web links
- Literature by and about Hans-Adam II in the catalog of the German National Library
- Portal of the Princely House of Liechtenstein - Prince Hans-Adam II.
- The Princely Family Liechtenstein ORF 2 (August 15, 2017)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b The Princely House of Liechtenstein: House Law ( memento of 19 September 2015 in the Internet Archive ) of 26 October 1993, I. The Princely House of Liechtenstein, Art. 2: Title of the members of the Princely House.
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^ House law of the Princely House of Liechtenstein of October 26, 1993 (PDF; 64 kB)
House law of the Princely House of Liechtenstein of October 26, 1993. ( Memento of September 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt, 1993 No. 100 edition on December 6, 1993 - ↑ In Pictures: The World's Richest Royals: No. 6: Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein In: Forbes , August 20, 2008
- ↑ Documentation: The letter from Prince Hans-Adam II. In full. In: Spiegel Online . September 22, 2008, accessed February 5, 2014 .
- ↑ Interview SD Fürst Hans-Adam von und zu Liechtenstein with editor-in-chief Heinz Zöchbauer for the 2009 national holiday edition of the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt ( Memento from May 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). August 13, 2009 (PDF; 37 kB)
- ^ The state in the third millennium. van Eck Verlag, Triesen 2009, p. 9. ISBN 978-3-905881-03-5 .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
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| Franz Josef II. |
Prince of Liechtenstein since 1989 |
in office |
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Hans-Adam II. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Prince Johannes Hans-Adam II. Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marko d'Aviano Pius from and to Liechtenstein; Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf; Count of Rietberg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Liechtenstein nobleman, Prince of Liechtenstein |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 14, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zurich |