Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein

Hans-Adam II (Johannes (Hans) Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marko d'Aviano Pius von und zu Liechtenstein; born 14 February 1945), is the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. He is the son of Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1906–1989) and his wife Countess Georgina von Wilczek (1921–1989). He also bears the titles Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg. He descends in the direct male line from only three of the previous fourteen Princes of Liechtenstein, and of another (again from two of the above mentioned three) in the female line.

Powers

The Prince of Liechtenstein has broad powers; a referendum to adopt Hans-Adam's revision of the constitution to expand his powers passed in 2003. The changes also included a republican option, whereby the Prince was henceforth formally barred from vetoing any bill to establish a republic. In addition, the right of each of the parishes which make up the Principality to secede was recognised. Prince Hans-Adam had announced his intention for he and his family to move to Austria if the referendum failed. Despite opposition from Mario Frick, a former prime minister, the Prince's referendum motion was carried by the electorate.

On 15 August 2004 Prince Hans-Adam II formally turned the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions over to his eldest son, the Hereditary Prince Alois, as a way of beginning a dynastic transition to a new generation. Legally, Hans-Adam remains Head of State.

Personal wealth

Prince Hans-Adam owns LGT banking group and has a family fortune of $7.6 billion and a personal fortune of about $4.0 billion, making him one of the world's richest heads of state, and Europe's wealthiest monarch. He owns an extensive art collection, which is displayed for the public at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna.

Personal life

Hans-Adam's native language is German, but he is also fluent in English and French.

On 30 July 1967, at Vaduz, Liechtenstein, he married his second cousin once-removed, Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (born 1940) who, upon her husband's accession to the throne, became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Liechtenstein. Their official residence is at Vaduz Castle, which overlooks the capital.

Viewpoints and book

Prince Hans-Adam II has written the political treatise The State in the Third Millennium (ISBN 9783905881042), which was published in late 2009. In it, he argues for the continued importance of the nation-state as a political actor. He makes the case for democracy as the best form of government, which he sees China and Russia as transitioning towards although the path will be difficult for these nations. He also declared his role in a royal family as something that has legitimacy only from the assent of the people. He stated that government should be limited to a small set of tasks and abilities, writing that people "have to free the state from all the unnecessary tasks and burdens with which it has been loaded during the last hundred years, which have distracted it from its two main tasks: maintenance of the rule of law and foreign policy.”

In an interview, recorded in November 2010, Hans-Adam said that he saw certain problems with aspects of the U.S. Constitution, such as the lack of direct democracy. He also said, "I am sitting here and that’s because Americans saved us during World War II and during the Cold War. So I am very grateful to them."

From : www.wikipedia.org