Gustav Schädler (, ;18 November 1883 – 19 June 1961) was a teacher and politician from

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

who served as

Prime Minister of Liechtenstein The head of government of Liechtenstein (), known informally as the prime minister, is the chief executive of the Government of Liechtenstein and chairs the cabinet of Liechtenstein. They are appointed by the sovereign prince of Liechtenstein ...

from 1922 to 1928. He previously served in the

Landtag of Liechtenstein The Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein () is the unicameral parliament of Liechtenstein. Qualifications Citizens who have attained the age of 18, have permanent residency in the country and have lived in the country for at least on ...

from 1919 to 1922.

Early life and career

Schädler was born on 18 November 1883 in

Triesenberg Triesenberg () is a Municipalities of Liechtenstein, municipality in Liechtenstein with a population of 2,636. Its area of makes it the largest municipality in Liechtenstein. The center of the municipality rests at an elevation of . History Tri ...

as one of four children. He attended a teachers college in

Bad Saulgau Bad Saulgau is a town in the Sigmaringen (district), district of Sigmaringen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 23 km east of Sigmaringen, and 27 km north of Ravensburg between the Danube and Lake Constance. Geography Bad ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. From 1906 to 1912 he participated in a teacher training course in linguistics and history in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. He particularly focused on lectures regarding the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and visited

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

during the war. He was appointed to the

in 1919 by Johann II, where he served until 1922. During this time, he also served as a government councillor in the Josef Ospelt cabinet from 2 March to 27 April 1922.

Prime Minister of Liechtenstein

Schädler served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

from 6 June 1922 to 28 June 1928. He was a member of the Christian-Social People's Party, and is the only member of the VP to have served as a prime minister after winning the

1922 Liechtenstein general election General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 5 February 1922, with a second round on 16 February.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1164 They were the first elections held under the Constitution of ...

. His government was responsible for creating a

monetary union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union ...

with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1924. It also oversaw the passing of a tax law referendum in 1922. His government was the subject of an embezzlement scandal involving the

National Bank of Liechtenstein Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, trading as LLB (stylised as llb), is a financial institution located in Liechtenstein, based in the capital city Vaduz. Since 1993 it has been listed as a company at the SIX Swiss Exchange, with the majority of ...

in 1928. Johann II forced his government to resign in June 1928 as a result, and early elections were called. Schädler was not barred from re-election, but the VP lost the

1928 Liechtenstein general election General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 15 July 1928, with a second round on 29 July. Early elections was called after Prince Johann II forced the resignation of the Christian-Social People's Party government of Prime Minister Gustav Sch ...

and he was succeeded by

Josef Hoop Franz Josef Hoop (; 14 December 1895 – 19 October 1959) was a diplomat and politician from Liechtenstein who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1928 to 1945. He later served as the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 19 ...

Later life

From 1928 to 1945 he worked as a teacher at the state school in

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.'' ...

. In 1931, a

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

was conducted against Schädler in the State Court of Justice for violating supervisory and official duties in the administration of the savings bank. However, he was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

, partly because the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

had expired and partly because the breach of duty was not due to

gross negligence Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross neg ...

. Between 1943 and 1944 Schädler worked with Patriotic Union leader Otto Schaedler as an editor of the

Liechtensteiner Vaterland ''Liechtensteiner Vaterland'' (; lit. "Liechtenstein Fatherland") is the largest daily newspaper in Liechtenstein. Published by Vaduzer Medienhaus AG, it is the official newspaper of the Patriotic Union party. History In January 1936, Christi ...

. He had written a series of articles about

for the authorities of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, supposedly for the German press, but in reality it was used by intelligence agencies such as the

Verein für Deutsche Kulturbeziehungen im Ausland The Verein für Deutsche Kulturbeziehungen im Ausland (; "Association for German cultural relations abroad"), abbreviated VDA, is a German cultural organisation. During the Nazi era it was engaged in spying across the whole world, using Germ ...

. In 1946 he was sentenced to six months in prison due to illegal intelligence providence, but did not serve the sentence for health reasons.

Personal life

SchaedlerFamilyGrave-VaduzCemeteryLiechtenstein RomanDeckert18012024

Schädler married Olga Real (29 July 1889 – 26 July 1974) on 16 December 1918 and they had 2 children together. He found his final resting place at the cemetery of Vaduz. His wife and their son Silvio (1919-1981) were buried in the same grave.

References

Bibliography