Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Encyclopedia
Alois Philipp Maria, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg
Rietberg
Rietberg is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approx. 10 km south of Gütersloh and 25 km north-west of Paderborn in the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The town is located at the river Ems. There are 28,878 people living in...
(born 11 June 1968) is the eldest son of Hans Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau
Marie, Princess of Liechtenstein
Marie Aglaë, Princess of Liechtenstein is the wife and cousin of Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein...
. Alois has been Regent of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
() since 15 August 2004. His marriage to Duchess Sophie in Bavaria
Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein
Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein , is the wife of Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Regent of Liechtenstein and heir apparent to the Liechtensteiner throne.-Early life and education:...
united the thrones of the Jacobite succession
Jacobite succession
The Jacobite succession is the line through which the crown in pretence of England and Scotland has descended since the flight of James II & VII from London at the time of the Glorious Revolution...
and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Education and military service
Alois attended the Liechtenstein Grammar School in VaduzVaduz
Vaduz is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. The town, located along the Rhine, has about 5,100 inhabitants , most of whom are Roman Catholic. Its cathedral is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop....
-Ebenholz and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He served in the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for six months before entering the University of Salzburg
University of Salzburg
The University of Salzburg, or Paris Lodron University after its founder, the Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron, is located in the Austrian city of Salzburg, Salzburgerland, home of Mozart. It is divided into 4 faculties: catholic theology, law, humanities and natural science.Founded in 1622, it...
, from which he earned a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
in 1993.
Duties
Until 1996, Alois worked at a London auditing company. In May of that year, he returned to Vaduz and became active in managing his father's finances and took an increasingly active role in political discussions and consultations, and in assuming representative duties for Liechtenstein.On Liechtenstein Day (15 August) in 1990, he and his father publicly and jointly swore to uphold the Constitution
Constitution of Liechtenstein
There has been a written constitution in the Principality of Liechtenstein since 5 October 1921. It was granted by Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and established the rule of parliamentary democracy mixed with that of constitutional monarchy. It has twelve chapters covering the...
.
Hans-Adam II won sweeping new powers (the right to veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
laws and elect judges) in a Constitutional referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
in 2003.
On Liechtenstein Day in 2004, Hans-Adam II formally turned the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions over to his son as a way of preparing for the transition to a new generation. (Hans-Adam remains Head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
).
On 27 November 2005, Liechtenstein voters rejected an initiative that would prohibit abortion and birth control in the principality. Instead, a government-sponsored counter proposal was ratified. The pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
initiative was supported by Roman Catholic Archbishop Wolfgang Haas
Wolfgang Haas
Wolfgang Haas is the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vaduz in Liechtenstein. He was ordained a priest as well as incardinated in Chur on April 7, 1974. At the request of the bishop of Chur Johannes Vonderach, Haas was appointed to the position of coadjutor bishop of Chur on March 25,...
. Alois was initially sympathetic to the pro-life proposal, but became neutral during the run-up to the vote.
In 2011, Alois threatened to exercise his royal veto if voters approved a forthcoming referendum to legalize abortion in the principality.
Marriage and children
On 3 July 1993, at St. Florin'sVaduz Cathedral
Vaduz Cathedral, or Cathedral of St. Florin , is a neo-Gothic church in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and the center of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz. Originally a parish church, it has had the status of a cathedral since 1997.It was built in 1873 by Friedrich von Schmidt on the site of earlier...
in Vaduz
Vaduz
Vaduz is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. The town, located along the Rhine, has about 5,100 inhabitants , most of whom are Roman Catholic. Its cathedral is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop....
, Alois married HRH Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria
Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein
Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein , is the wife of Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Regent of Liechtenstein and heir apparent to the Liechtensteiner throne.-Early life and education:...
, now also Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein and Countess of Rietberg. They have four children:
- HSH Prince Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria of LiechtensteinPrince Joseph Wenzel of LiechtensteinPrince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg , styled His Serene Highness , is the eldest child of Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the Regent and Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria...
, Count of Rietberg (born 24 May 1995 in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) - HSH Princess Marie-Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg (born 17 October 1996 in GrabsGrabsGrabs is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Werdenberg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Grabs is first mentioned in 841 as Quaravedes. In 979 it was mentioned as Quadravedes, then in 1235 as Grabdis and in 1253 as Graps.-Geography:Grabs has an area, , of...
, Canton of St. GallenCanton of St. GallenThe Canton of St. Gallen is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population of . , the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling...
) - HSH Prince Georg Antonius Constantin Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born 20 April 1999 in Grabs)
- HSH Prince Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born 6 December 2000, in Grabs)
Ancestry
See also
- List of Princes of Liechtenstein
- Line of succession to the Liechtensteinian Throne
- Princely Family of LiechtensteinPrincely Family of LiechtensteinThe Liechtenstein dynasty, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by constitutional, hereditary right over the nation of Liechtenstein...
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