Mario Frick | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Frick in 1997 | |
| Prime Minister of Liechtenstein | |
| In office 15 December 1993 – 5 April 2001 | |
| Monarch | Hans-Adam II |
| Deputy | Thomas Büchel Michael Ritter |
| Preceded by | Markus Büchel |
| Succeeded by | Otmar Hasler |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein | |
| In office 26 May 1993 – 15 December 1993 | |
| Monarch | Hans-Adam II |
| Prime Minister | Markus Büchel |
| Preceded by | Herbert Wille |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Büchel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1965-05-08)8 May 1965 (age 60) |
| Political party | Patriotic Union |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Mario K. Frick (born 8 May 1965) is a lawyer and politician fromLiechtenstein who served asPrime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as theDeputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein in 1993, under the government ofMarkus Büchel.
Frick was born on 8 May 1965 inChur to trustee Kuno Frick and Melita Kaufmann as one of six children. From 1977 to 1985 he attended high school inVaduz and proceeded to study law inUniversity of St. Gallen, where he received a diploma in 1991.[1]
He was a member of the Balzers municipal council from1991 to 1993.[1]
Frick was theDeputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from May 1993 underMarkus Büchel until he resigned in October under pressure from theProgressive Citizens' Party after theLandtag of Liechtenstein withdrew its confidence in him, and Frick became Prime Minister of Liechtenstein.[2][3]Hans-Adam II subsequently called theOctober 1993 Liechtenstein general election which resulted in a win for thePatriotic Union.[4] He became Europe's youngesthead of government at the time at 28 years old.[1]
During his tenure as prime minister, Liechtenstein entered theEuropean Economic Area after a successfulreferendum in 1995, and also joined theWorld Trade Organization the same year.[5][6] However, it also faced problems in its foreign relations, such as a dispute with theCzech Republic begun in 1992 over the confiscation of Princely properties estates in 1945, and a 2001 dispute withGermany in theInternational Court of Justice over royal property confiscated in order to pay war debts.
In 1997, the Progressive Citizens' Party withdrew from the coalition government that had existed since 1938, making hissecond cabinet the first non-coalition cabinet since then.[1][7]
Frick's government was faced with the challenge of the1999–2001 Liechtenstein financial crisis, where the GermanFederal Intelligence Service accused various banks, politicians and judges within Liechtenstein of cooperating withorganized crime to promotemoney laundering. This led to Liechtenstein being blacklisted by theFinancial Action Task Force in 2000. As a result, his government oversaw reforms to the Liechtenstein financial sector to combat organized crime and money laundering.[8]
After the end of his term as prime minister, Frick was notably prominent in the political controversy surrounding the2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, whereby it was proposed that the ruling prince be given wider powers; a number of other measures were also proposed. Frick led the opposition to the proposed changes which, however, were subsequently approved by the electorate.[1][9]
.jpg)
Since 2002, Frick is a co-owner of thelaw firm Advocatur Seeger, Frick & Partner based inSchaan.[10] He was chairman of the board of directors of media company Vaduzer Medienhaus AG from 2003 to 2009.[1]
Frick married Andrea Haberlander (born 11 February 1965) on 16 September 1992 and they have three children together. He lives inBalzers.[1]
Frick's brother Jürgen was shot and killed in the underground garage of Frick & Co. Bank in the town ofBalzers on 7 April 2014.[11] The shooter, Jürgen Hermann, later shot and killed himself, and his body was found inLake Constance on the German side of the lake. Hermann tried to sue Frick in 2010 but the suit was thrown out by the courts.[12]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
