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. Under his reign, a 2003 constitutional referendum expanded the powers of the Prince of Liechtenstein. In 2004, Hans-Adam transferred day-to-day governmental duties to his eldest son Hereditary Prince Alois as regent, like his father had granted him in 1984 to prepare him for the role.

Early life

Hans-Adam Prince of Liechtenstein (1974) by Erling Mandelmann

He was born on 14 February 1945 in Zürich,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, as the eldest son of Prince Franz Joseph II and Princess Gina of Liechtenstein, with his godfather being

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. 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

, earning a Swiss Matura and a German

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1965. He then worked as a bank trainee in London before enrolling at the University of St. Gallen to study

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

, graduating with a licentiate in 1969. He is fluent in English and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

in addition to his native German. 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.

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. 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. 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.Foulkes, Imogen. (1 July 2012
BBC News – Liechtenstein referendum rejects curbs on royal powers
BBC News. 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.

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, making him one of the world's richest heads of state, and Europe's wealthiest monarch. 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.

Personal life

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). 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 A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

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. In his childhood he joined the Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Liechtensteins in Vaduz. He is also a former member of the Viennese Scout Group "''Wien 16-Schotten''". He is a member of the World Scout Foundation.

Viewpoints and book

Hans-Adam has written the political treatise ''The State in the Third Millennium'' (), which was published in late 2009. In it, he argues for the continued importance of the

nation-state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

as a political actor. He makes the case for democracy as the best form of government, which he sees

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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". Hans-Adam is a friend of the German anarcho-capitalist economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe. Hans-Adam wrote to the foreword to a ''Sourcebook, on Self-Determination and Self-Administration'', which was edited by

Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber Wolfgang Franz Danspeckgruber (born February 4, 1956) is the Founding Director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University and has been teaching on issues of state, international security, self-determination, di ...

and Arthur Watts (, 1997), and in the ''Encyclopedia Princetoniensis''.

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'').

Honours and awards

Foreign

* Austria ** Austrian-Hungarian Imperial and Royal family: 1,305th Knight with Collar of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

** : Grand Cross of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Grand Star * Bavarian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Hubert

Awards

* : Honorary degree of the University of Innsbruck * : Honorary degree of the Babeș-Bolyai University

References

External links

*
2004: Royal power handover – Prince Alois says democracy still strong
Real Audio sound file from the BBC.
Interview
with

Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932) * J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...

of Uncommon Knowledge
Web archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hans-Adam 02, Prince of Liechtenstein 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