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 were 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 | Assumption Day, 15 August, and National Day, 15 August (1940) |
Constitution |
history: previous 1862; latest adopted 5 October 1921 amendments: proposed as bills 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 all eligible voters; amended many times, last in 2011 |
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 - 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but HANS-ADAM II retains status of chief of state head of government: Prime Minister Adrian HASLER (since 27 March 2013) 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 the Parliament usually appointed the head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in the Landtag 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 proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 5 February 2017 (next to be held in February 2021) election results: percent of vote by party - FBP 35.2%, VU 33.7%, DU 18.4% FL 12.6%; seats by party - FBP 9, VU 8, DU 5, FL 3; composition - men 22, women 3, percent of women 12% |
Judicial Branch: |
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 5 judges); Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgericht (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 or Obergericht (second instance), Court of Justice (first instance), Administrative Court, county courts |
Regions or States: | 11 communes (Gemeinden, singular - Gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
Fatherland Union (Vaterlaendische Union) or VU [Jakob BUECHEL] Progressive Citizens' Party (Fortschrittliche Buergerpartei) or FBP [Thomas BANZER] The Free List (Die Freie Liste) or FL [Pepo FRICK] The Independents (Die Unabhaengigen) or DU [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 Kurt JAEGER (since 16 December 2016) chancery: 2900 K Street, NW, Suite 602B, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0590 FAX: [1] (202) 331-3221 |
Diplomatic Representation from US: | the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein; the US Ambassador to Switzerland is accredited to Liechtenstein |