Daniel Risch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Prime Minister of Liechtenstein | |
| In office 25 March 2021 – 10 April 2025 | |
| Monarchs | Hans-Adam II Alois (regent) |
| Deputy | Sabine Monauni |
| Preceded by | Adrian Hasler |
| Succeeded by | Brigitte Haas |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein | |
| In office 30 March 2017 – 25 March 2021 | |
| Monarchs | Hans-Adam II Alois (regent) |
| Prime Minister | Adrian Hasler |
| Preceded by | Thomas Zwiefelhofer |
| Succeeded by | Sabine Monauni |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1978-03-05)5 March 1978 (age 47) |
| Party | Patriotic Union |
| Spouse | Jasmin Schädler |
| Relations | Peter Sprenger (uncle) |
| Children | 2 |
Risch speaks on his position of the legalisation of cannabis. Recorded September 2018 | |
Daniel Risch (German pronunciation:[ˈdaːniːɛlˈʁɪʃ]; born 5 March 1978) is a politician fromLiechtenstein who served as thePrime Minister of Liechtenstein from 2021 to 2025. He was previously theDeputy Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021, under the government ofAdrian Hasler.[1]
Risch attended Liechtenstein Grammar School inVaduz from 1990 to 1998, and received a business baccalaureate.[2] He later studied business administration at theSwiss universities ofSt. Gallen andZurich, as well asLMU Munich from 1999 to 2003.[2] He graduated with a degree in economics (lic. oec. publ.) from theUniversity of Zurich.[3]
Risch then started doctoral studies in business informatics at theUniversity of Freiburg in 2004,[2] and from 2006 to 2007 was a visiting scholar at theUniversity of Melbourne as part of a research stay.[2] During this period, he also worked as a lecturer at theUniversity of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland [de].[2] He completed his studies at Freiburg in 2007 and received a doctorate in economics (dr. rer. pol.).[3]
From 2007, he was the Project Manager, Head of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer at Unic AG, an e-business consulting company, in Zurich and Bern.[2] From 2015 until entering government in 2017, he worked as Chief Marketing Officer atLiechtensteinische Post.[3]
From 2015 to 2017, he was a board member at a Liechtensteiner forum forinformation and communications technology (IKT Forum Liechtenstein).[3]
Risch was a candidate for government in the2017 Liechtenstein general election as a member of thePatriotic Union.[4] Following the resignation ofThomas Zwiefelhofer, Risch was appointed asDeputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein on 30 March 2017 in a renewed coalition government between the Patriotic Union andProgressive Citizens' Party.[5][6] As deputy prime minister, he was also a government councillor with the roles of infrastructure, economy, and sport.[2]
He was the Patriotic Union's candidate forPrime Minister of Liechtenstein in the2021 Liechtenstein general election.[7] During the campaign, Risch stated that he would not be a part of the next government should the party loose the election.[7] The election resulted in a virtual tie between the Patriotic Union and Progressive Citizens' Party.[8] As a result, Risch was appointed as prime minister on 25 March 2021 in a renewed coalition government between the two parties. As prime minister, he also held the role of finance minister.[9]
Risch has supported increased cooperation and integration between theEuropean Union andEuropean Free Trade Association, in addition to further progress to cut down ongreenhouse gas emissions.[10] His government has spearheaded Liechtenstein's support for Ukraine in the wake of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, starting in February 2022.[11][12] He was a signatory of theJune 2024 Ukraine peace summit.[13]
From November 2023 to May 2024 Liechtenstein held thePresidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, headed by foreign ministerDominique Hasler.[14] Risch, together with Hasler, started the government-fundedBook of Europe project in spring 2024, during Liechtenstein's presidency of the Council of Europe. In the book, the heads of government of the 46 members of the council were asked to write their thoughts and vision of Europe, which 33 did so. The book was published in February 2025.[15]
During his term in office, in November 2022, theLandtag of Liechtenstein passed a motion calling on the government to introducea bill legalizing same-sex marriage, with broad support from across the political spectrum. A bill legalizing same-sex marriage was introduced in February 2024 and passed its final reading in the Landtag on 16 May 2024 by a 24–1 vote.[16]
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He was a prominent advocate for Liechtenstein's accession to theInternational Monetary Fund, and his government started the proceedings for it in 2024.[17][18] Liechtenstein joined the IMF on 21 October 2024.[19] This came after asuccessful referendum was held the previous month.[20][21]
Risch opposed the privatization ofRadio Liechtenstein in anreferendum on the topic in October 2024.[22] Despite this, the Patriotic Union voted to support the privatization and the subsequent referendum was accepted by voters.[22][23] Radio Liechtenstein was subsequently closed in April 2025 due to a lack of a concrete plan regarding the privatization as well as no political decision being made regarding an extension of the deadline to do so.[24][25]
In February 2024, Risch announced that he would not be running for re-election in the2025 Liechtenstein general election.[26][27] He was succeeded byBrigitte Haas on 10 April 2025.[28]
In October 2025, Risch foundedt minus 5 GmbH based inTriesen[29] and is currently serving as its CEO as of October 2025.
Since 2009, Risch has been a member of the Founding Committee, Organising Committee and Patronage Body of the FL1.LIFE festival inSchaan.
Risch married Jasmin Schädler and they have two children together. He lives inTriesen.[3]
Austria:Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold (2024)[30]
Liechtenstein:Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein (2025)[31]
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| Academics | |
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