In 1984, Prince Franz Joseph II, while legally remaininghead 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 adynastic transition to a new generation.[7] Hans-Adam formally succeeded as Prince of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father on 13 November 1989.[8]
Areferendum to adopt Hans-Adam's revision of theConstitution of Liechtenstein to expand his powers passed in 2003. The prince had threatened to abdicate and leave the country if the referendum did not result in his favour.[9]
On August 15, 2004, Hans-Adam formally handed the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions to his eldest sonHereditary Prince Alois asregent, as a way of beginning adynastic transition to a new generation. Legally, Hans-Adam remains thehead of state.[10] Hans-Adam's fatherFranz Joseph II had similarly done so for him on 26 August 1984.[11]
Ina 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 onabortion, also up for referendum. 76 per cent of those voting in the first referendum supported Alois' power to veto the outcome of future referendums.[12] 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.[13]
Throughout his reign, Hans-Adam has been a prominent proponent of strengthening Liechtenstein's economic and political independence from Switzerland, with which Liechtenstein has been in acustoms union since 1924.[14][15] In a speech from 1970 nicknamed the "backpack speech", Hans-Adam declared his intentions to push for an independent Liechtenstein foreign policy.[14] He was a major proponent of Liechtenstein joining theUnited Nations, which the country successfully did in 1990.[14][16]
Hans-Adam instigated the1992 Liechtenstein constitutional crisis by calling for a referendum regarding Liechtenstein's accession to theEuropean Economic Area to be held in advance of the corresponding one in Switzerland, against the wishes of boththe government and theLandtag of Liechtenstein. On 28 October 1992, he threatened to dissolve the Landtag and dismiss thePrime Minister of Liechtenstein,Hans Brunhart, over the dispute and appoint an acting prime minister in his place. In response, approximately 2,000 people demonstrated in front of the government house inVaduz. On the same day, the government and Hans-Adam II negotiated and came to an agreement that scheduled the referendum after the corresponding one in Switzerland, though notably it affirmed that Liechtenstein would commit to agreements with the EEA despite the result in Switzerland.[17] The event forced the customs union between Liechtenstein and Switzerland to be revised to grant Liechtenstein greater freedom in deciding its foreign policy, and Liechtenstein subsequently joined the EEA in 1995.[18][19]
In 1995, Hans-Adam was the subject of a complaint to theEuropean Convention on Human Rights against the state of Liechtenstein for the violation of freedom of speech and right to an effective remedy. This was prompted by Hans-Adam sending a letter to formerDeputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein,Herbert Wille, which stated that he would not appoint Wille to a public office due to him expressing the opinion in a speech that theLiechtenstein state court should hold the final say over the prince regarding disputes with theconstitution of Liechtenstein. In 1999, the ECHR ruled that a violation had taken place and the state of Liechtenstein was convicted.[20][21]
In an interview with Radio Liechtenstein in February 2021, Prince Hans-Adam II expressed his support for same-sex marriage but said he opposed allowing same-sex couples to adopt.[22][23]
Hans-Adam has written the political treatiseThe State in the Third Millennium (ISBN978-3-905881-04-2), which was published in late 2009.[21] In it, he argues for the continued importance of thenation-state as a political actor. He makes the case for democracy as the best form of government, which he seesChina 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".[24] Hans-Adam is a friend of the Germananarcho-capitalist economistHans-Hermann Hoppe.[25]
Hans-Adam has financed research intoUFOs for decades and is said to have a great personal interest inufology.[27] This became public through the diaries of the well-known ufologist and astronomerJacques Vallée, whom Hans-Adam had invited to his castle. He also worked with the American businessmanRobert Bigelow, who has also financed UFO research. Hans-Adam's interest in the phenomenon is said to have been sparked by a UFO sighting by his aunt inMunich in the 1950s.[28]
Hans-Adam II led theLGT Bank on an expansion course until his accession to the throne in 1989.
Before his accession to the throne, he transformedLGT Bank which is wholly owned by his family, from a small local bank into an internationally operating financial group. As of 2003 he had a family fortune of US$7.6 billion and a personal fortune of about US$4 billion,[29] making him one of the world's richest heads of state, and Europe's wealthiest monarch.[30]
He also inherited an extensive art collection, much of which is displayed for the public at theLiechtenstein Museum in Vienna. As of July 2022, his net worth was estimated byBloomberg Billionaires Index around US$6.20 billion, making him the 380th richest person on earth.[31] However, he placed these assets in a family foundation, thePrince of Liechtenstein Foundation, from which each family member receives an equal annual allowance and which maintains the family's castles, cultural assets, collections and museums and last but not least, the costs of the princely court including even some salaries for princes who are ambassadors abroad, which are not a burden on the taxpayer.[citation needed]
His successful entrepreneurship allowed him to buy back parts of the family art collection[32] which his father had to sell after World War II due to lack of money after his vast land holdings inCzechoslovakia had been expropriated (measuring 7.5 times the total area of the Principality itself) and after his Austrian properties had become inaccessible until the end of theSoviet occupation in 1955. In addition, he continues to expand the collection of classical paintings and applied arts to this day.[citation needed]
Prince Constantin Ferdinand Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born on 15 March 1972 inSt. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland – died on 5 December 2023), known professionally as Constantin Liechtenstein.[37] Married to Austrian Countess Marie Gabriele FranziskaKálnoky de Kőröspatak (born on 16 July 1975) in May 1999. They have three children:
Prince Moritz Emanuel Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born on 27 May 2003 inNew York City,New York, United States)
Princess Georgina "Gina" Maximiliana Tatiana Maria of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg[38] (born on 23 July 2005 inVienna, Austria)
Prince Benedikt Ferdinand Hubertus Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born on 18 May 2008 in Vienna, Austria)
Princess Tatjana Nora Maria of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg (born on 10 April 1973 inSt. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland), also known after marriage as Tatjana von Lattorff.[39] She graduated fromEuropean Business School inMadrid, Spain and is fluent in German, English, French and Spanish.[40][41] Princess Tatjana is a patron of SOS Children's Village Liechtenstein,[39] president of Princess Gina of Liechtenstein Foundation[42] and also president of the board of trustees of Prince Franz Josef of Liechtenstein Foundation.[43] In 2020, she became the president of theVienna International School Association.[44] Married to German Baron Matthias Claus-Just Carl Philipp von Lattorff (born on 25 March 1968 inGraz,Styria, Austria) on 5 June 1999. Baron Philipp is the eldest son of Baron Claus-Jürgen von Lattorff and Countess JuliaBatthyány von Angol-Ujvár.[45] He worked forBoehringer Ingelheim as a CEO and is the vice president ofFederation of Austrian Industries.[46] They have seven children:
Lukas Maria von Lattorff (born on 13 May 2000 inWiesbaden,Hesse, Germany)
Elisabeth Maria Angela Tatjana von Lattorff (born on 25 January 2002 in Grabs, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland)
Marie Teresa von Lattorff (born on 18 January 2004 in Grabs, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland)
Camilla Maria Katharina von Lattorff (born on 4 November 2005 inMonza,Lombardy, Italy)
Anna Pia Theresia Maria von Lattorff (born on 3 August 2007 inGoldgeben,Lower Austria, Austria)
Sophie Katharina Maria von Lattorff (born on 30 October 2009 in Goldgeben, Lower Austria, Austria)
Maximilian Maria von Lattorff (born on 17 December 2011 in Goldgeben, Lower Austria, Austria)
They remained married until her death on 21 August 2021 at the age of 81.
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 andJägerndorf,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).[53]
Quarterly: I Or, an eagle displayed Sable crowned and armed Or charged with acrescent treflée, issuing from the middle thereof a cross pattée Argent (Silesia); II barry of eight Or and Sable, a crown of rue bendways throughout Vert (Kuenring); III per pale Gules and Argent (Duchy of Troppau); IV Or, aharpy displayed Sable the human parts Argent crowned and armed Or (Cirksena); on a point entée Azure, abugle-horn stringed Or (Duchy of Jägerndorf); en surtout, an inescutcheon per fess or and Gules (House of Liechtenstein).[58]
^"H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois".Liechtenstein Princely House Official Website.Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved17 July 2022.Princess Marie Caroline, born 17 October 1996
^"PARTICIPATION OF THE LIECHTENSTEIN GROUP LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR FURTHER EXPANSION".PV Invest.Klagenfurt. 11 March 2021.Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved14 August 2022.Constantin Liechtenstein and Johannes Meran, managing directors of Liechtenstein Beteiligungs GmbH: "We are convinced that PV-Invest is the suitable partner for the future growth strategy of the Liechtenstein Group in the business area "Renewable Energies" due to the many years of expertise of the management and the successful track record."
^ab"SOS KINDERDORF".SOS Village Liechtenstein.Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved4 June 2022.H.S.H. Tatjana von Lattorff. Our patroness: Princess of Liechtenstein
^Brósch-Fohraheim, Eugen (October 2008). "Schwedischer König als Pfadfinder in Wien-Zusammenkunft der "Weltpfadfinderstiftung" in Wien 2008".29 Live (in German): 21.
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