What is the capital of Liechtenstein?
Country Name | Liechtenstein |
Full Country Name | Principality of Liechtenstein |
Local - Long | Fuerstentum Liechtenstein |
Local - Short | Liechtenstein |
Etymology- history of name | named after the Liechtenstein dynasty that purchased and united the counties of Schellenburg and Vaduz and that was allowed by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1719 to rename the new property after their family; the name in German means "light (bright) stone" |
Government Type | constitutional monarchy |
Capital Name | Vaduz |
Capital - geographic coordinate | 47 08 N, 9 31 E |
Capital Time Difference | UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
Daylight Savings Time | +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Independence | 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire); 24 August 1866 (independence from the German Confederation) |
National Holiday | National Day, 15 August (1940); note - a National Day was originally established in 1940 to combine celebrations for the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) with those honoring the birthday of former Prince FRANZ JOSEF II (1906-1989) whose birth fell on 16 August; after the prince's death, National Day became the official national holiday by law in 1990 |
Constitution |
history: previous 1862; latest adopted 5 October 1921 amendments: proposed by Parliament, by the reigning prince (in the form of "Government" proposals), by petition of at least 1,500 qualified voters, or by at least four communes; passage requires unanimous approval of Parliament members in one sitting or three-quarters majority vote in two successive sittings; referendum required only if petitioned by at least 1,500 voters or by at least four communes; passage by referendum requires absolute majority of votes cast; amended many times, last in 2020 |
Who is the president of Liechtenstein?
Executive Branch: |
chief of state: Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers on 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent and Regent of Liechtenstein Prince ALOIS (son of the monarch, born 11 June 1968); note - on 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but Prince HANS-ADAM II retains status of chief of state head of government: Prime Minister Daniel RISCH; Deputy Prime Minister Sabine MONAUNI (both since 25 March 2021) cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Parliament, confirmed by the monarch elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in Parliament usually appointed the head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in Parliament usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch if there is a coalition government |
Citizenship Criteria: |
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Liechtenstein; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
Legal System: | civil law system influenced by Swiss, Austrian, and German law |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Legislative Branch: |
description: unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members directly elected in 2 multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 7 February 2021 (next to be held on 7 February 2025) election results: percent of vote by party - FBP 40%, VU 40%, FL 12%, DpL 8%; seats by party - FBP 10, VU 10, FL 3, DpL 2; composition - men 18, women 7, percent of women 28% |
Judicial Branch: |
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supreme Court or Fürstlicher Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 5 judges and 5 substitutes); Constitutional Court or Staatsgerichtshof (consists of 5 judges, and 5 alternates) judge selection and term of office: judges of both courts elected by the Landtag and appointed by the monarch; Supreme Court judges serve 4-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed for renewable 5-year terms subordinate courts: Court of Appeal (second instance), Regional Court (first instance), Administrative Court, Tribunal Court, district courts |
Regions or States: | 11 communes (Gemeinden, singular - Gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
Democrats for Liechtenstein (Demokraten pro Liechtenstein) or DpL [Thomas REHAK] Fatherland Union (Vaterlaendische Union) or VU [Thomas ZWIEFELHOFER] Progressive Citizens' Party (Fortschrittliche Buergerpartei) or FBP [Rainer GOPP] The Free List (Die Freie Liste) or FL [Daniel WALSER, Joy WALSER, Mauela HALDNER-SCHIERSCHER, Sebastian MEIER, Stefan BECKER] The Independents (Die Unabhaengigen) or DU [Harald "Harry" QUADERER] |
International Law Organization Participation: | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
International Organization Participation: | CD, CE, EBRD, EFTA, IAEA, ICCt, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WIPO, WTO |
Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Georg SPARBER (since 1 December 2021) chancery: 2900 K Street NW, Suite 602B, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0590 FAX: [1] (202) 331-3221 email address and website: washington@llv.li https://www.liechtensteinusa.org/ |
Diplomatic Representation from US: | embassy: the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein; the US Ambassador to Switzerland is accredited to Liechtenstein |