Peter Büchel (29 June 1872 – 24 April 1958) was a civil servant 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 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 1918 to 1939. He also served as a government councillor from 1926 to 1938.

Early life

Büchel was born on 29 June 1872 in

Mauren Mauren (; High Alemannic: ''Muura'') is a municipality in Liechtenstein that is situated in the north of the country. It has a population of 4,401. The Curta mechanical calculator was produced by Contina AG, in Mauren.farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

and attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in the town.

Career

From 1903 to 1906 Büchel was a member of the

Mauren Mauren (; High Alemannic: ''Muura'') is a municipality in Liechtenstein that is situated in the north of the country. It has a population of 4,401. The Curta mechanical calculator was produced by Contina AG, in Mauren.secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

. In

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

he was elected to the

as a member of the

Progressive Citizens' Party The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein (, FBP) is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Liechtenstein, political party in Liechtenstein. The FBP is one of the two major party, major List of political parties in Liech ...

. He was a member of the party's delegation for the agreement that allowed for the accession of Josef Peer as Governor of Liechtenstein in 1920, an agreement that led to the ratification of the

Constitution of Liechtenstein The Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein () was promulgated on 5 October 1921, replacing the 1862 constitution. It was granted by Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and established the rule of partial parliamentary democracy m ...

on 5 October 1921. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1156 From 1922 to January 1926 he was an opposition member in the Landtag. Büchel was a government councillor from 1926 to 1938. In 1928 the government of

Gustav Schädler Gustav Schädler (, ;18 November 1883 – 19 June 1961) was a teacher and politician from Liechtenstein who served as List of heads of government of Liechtenstein, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1922 to 1928. He previously served in the Land ...

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 ...

. The Christian-Social People's Party tried to charge Büchel for the scandal, in which he immediately demanded an investigation and 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 ...

of all allegations. As a result of the scandal, Johann II forced Schädler's government to resign and early elections were called. He served in the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

second Hoop cabinet The second Josef Hoop cabinet was the governing body of Liechtenstein from 28 February 1936 to 30 March 1938. It was appointed by Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Franz I and chaired by Josef Hoop. History The 1936 Liechtenstein general elec ...

. In the government, Büchel represented rural concerns and advocated for the building of a 23 km long inland canal to increase the percentage of

arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

within the country and to create job opportunities within the country, which was approved in 1930, started construction in 1931 and then completed in 1943. In March 1938 he opposed the formation of a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

between the Progressive Citizens' Party and the Patriotic Union following the Anschluss of Austria, but voluntarily resigned from all government positions to ensure party peace. Büchel was a staunch opponent of

National-socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

and he played a role in thwarting the German National Movement in Liechtenstein (VDBL) when they attempted a coup in 1939.

Personal life

Büchel married Maria Paulina Kaiser (29 January 1881 – 5 June 1966) on 12 May 1907 and they had two sons together. He died on 24 April 1958, aged 85 years old.

Honours

: ** Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of HSH Prince Johan II (1920). ** Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein (1937).

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Büchel, Peter 1872 births 1958 deaths People from Mauren Liechtenstein farmers 20th-century government ministers of Liechtenstein Members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (1918–1922) Members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (1922–1926) Members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (1926–1928) Members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (1928–1932) Members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (1932–1936) Members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (1936–1939) Anti-fascism in Liechtenstein Progressive Citizens' Party members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein