A referendum on the introduction of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in national elections was held in

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

on 1 July 1984. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1174 Following the introduction of female suffrage in neighbouring Switzerland at the federal level after a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in 1971 (although women had had the right to vote in many cantons and municipalities before this), Liechtenstein had been the only remaining European country to deny women the right to vote.LIECHTENSTEIN: Keeping Up with Kuwait
Time, 15 March 1971 Referendums had been held in 1968, 1971 and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

(the latter two limited to men), but on each occasion men had rejected its introduction, despite the support of newspapers and both major political parties. Nevertheless, some municipalities had since introduced female suffrage at a local level, starting with

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

in 1976, and women had been elected to the local councils of Vaduz and

Gamprin Gamprin is a municipality of Liechtenstein, on the Rhine on the border with the municipality of Sennwald, in Switzerland. It had 1,690 inhabitants in 2019. The municipality contains the village of Bendern and scattered hamlets and the Liechtenstei ...

in 1983.Beattie,
Liechtenstein: a modern history
p. 147 This referendum was also limited to male voters, and again both main parties had argued for its introduction. This time the referendum produced a vote in favour of the change, although only by the narrow margin of 119 votes, with 2,370 in favour and 2,251 against. Support was greater in Unterland than in Oberland. Voter turnout was 86.19%. Following the referendum, amendments were made to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

to grant women the right to vote in national elections, although they did not gain the right to vote in local elections in three municipalities until 1986. The first national elections in which women could vote took place in 1986, and saw Emma Eigenmann elected to the Landtag on the

Progressive Citizens' Party The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein (german: Fortschrittliche Bürgerpartei in Liechtenstein, FBP) is a national-conservative political party in Liechtenstein. The FBP is one of the two major political parties in Liechtenstein, a ...

(FBP) list, becoming the first female member of the Landtag. In 1993 Cornelia Gassner of the FBP became the country's first female cabinet member.Beattie,
Liechtenstein: a modern history
p. 148

Results

References

{{Feminism

1984 in Liechtenstein Referendums in Liechtenstein Women's suffrage in Liechtenstein Suffrage referendums July 1984 events in Europe 1984 in women's history

Results

See also

References