Government and Politics of Liechtenstein

Government Type

hereditary constitutional monarchy on a democratic and parliamentary basis

Administrative Divisions

11 communes (Gemeinden, singular - Gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz

Legal System

local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Citizenship

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

Executive Branch

chief of state: Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS (born 11 June 1968); note - on 15 August 2004, HANS-ADAM II transferred the day-to-day official duties of the ruling prince to ALOIS, but HANS-ADAM II retains the status of chief of state head of government: Head of Government Daniel RISCH (since 25 March 2021) and Deputy Head of Government Sabine MONAUNI (since 25 March 2021) cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Parliament (Landtag), confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Landtag is usually appointed head of government by the monarch, and the leader of the largest minority party in the Landtag is usually appointed deputy head of government by the monarch

Legislative Branch

unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 11 and 13 March 2005 (next to be held by NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - FBP 48.7%, VU 38.2%, FL 13%; seats by party - FBP 12, VU 10, FL 3

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Court of Appeal or Obergericht

Political Parties

Patriotic Union (was Fatherland Union) or VU [Heinz FROMMELT]; Progressive Citizens' Party or FBP [Johannes MATT]; The Free List or FL [Dr. Pepo FRICK, Elisabeth TELLENBACH-FRICK, Adolf RITTER]

Head of State

Prince HANS ADAM II

Head of Government

Head of Government Klaus Tschuetscher

Cabinet

Cabinet elected by the Parliament, confirmed by the monarch

Elections

the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Landtag is usually appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the largest minority party in the Landtag is usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch if there is a coalition government

Constitution

5-Oct-21

Independence

23 January 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established; 12 July 1806 established independence from the Holy Roman Empire

National Holiday

Assumption Day, 15 August

International Organization Participation

CE, EBRD, EFTA, IAEA, ICCt, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WHO (observer), WIPO, WTrO

Diplomatic Representation in the U.S.

chief of mission: Ambassador Claudia FRITSCHE chancery: 888 17th Street NW, Suite 1250, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0590 FAX: [1] (202) 331-3221

U.S. Diplomatic Representation

the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the US Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein

Capital City

Vaduz

Location

47 08 N, 9 31 E

Time Difference

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

History

may be a conflation from the Latin vallis (valley) and the High German diutisk (meaning "German") to produce Valdutsch ("German valley"), which over time simplified and came to refer specifically to Vaduz, the town

United States Embassy Bern Sulgeneckstrasse 19, 3007 Bern, Switzerland Telephone: (41) (31) 357-7011 (2 p.m. – 4 p.m.) Emergency phone: after-hours/weekends: (41) (31) 357-7777 Facsimile: (41) (31) 357-7280 United States Consular Agency Zurich Dufourstrasse 101, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland Telephone: (41) (43) 499-2960 (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.) Facsimile: (41) (43) 499-2961 Email: zurich-ca@state.gov United States Consular Agency Geneva Rue Versonnex 7, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland Telephone: (41) (22) 840 -5160 (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.) Facsimile: (41) (22) 840-5162. Email: geneva-CA@state.gov Mailing address: U.S. Consular Agency, c/o U.S. Mission, 11, Rte.de Pregny, 1292 Chambesy, Switzerland

Military Branches

no regular military forces; National Police maintains close relations with neighboring forces