The head of government of Liechtenstein (de|Regierungschef von Liechtenstein), known informally as the prime minister, is the chief executive of the Government of Liechtenstein and chairs the cabinet of Liechtenstein. They are appointed by the sovereign prince of Liechtenstein with the consent of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (parliament of Liechtenstein) and are expected to command the confidence of both the prince and the Landtag. The appointed head of government is typically the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Landtag or a coalition of parties. The head of government cannot be a member of the Landtag at the same time, although they should meet the eligibility requirements for that office.[1]
The position originated as German: [[Advocatus|Landvogt]] in the 16th century. The role functioned as the head of the district office, subordinate to the court of House of Liechtenstein.[2] It was originally an undesired post within the court; this changed after Michael Menzinger applied for the role in 1833.[3] The title was changed to governor (German: Landesverweser) as a concession following the Revolution of 1848 in Liechtenstein and was formalized upon the ratification of the 1862 constitution of Liechtenstein on 26 September. For this reason, Menzinger is considered the first governor of Liechtenstein.[4] In 1921, a new constitution was ratified in which the office was replaced by that of the prime minister.[5] Under this constitution, the eligibility for becoming head of government was changed to require being natural-born in Liechtenstein. However, this requirement has been considered inactive since 1992.[6]
The incumbent prime minister has been Daniel Risch since 25 March 2021.[7] There are currently five living former prime ministers, with Walter Kieber being the most recent death, in 2014.[8]
The German: Landesverweser, also known as 'Governor', was the title of the head of government from 1848 to 1921.[9]
| Portrait | scope=col rowspan=2 | Name | Term of office | Cabinet | Party | scope=col rowspan=2 | Monarch | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=col | Start | scope=col | Duration | |||||||
| 1 | Michael Menzinger | 22 March 1833 – 15 March 1861 | 28 years, 1 month | — | Ind | Aloys II | ||||
| 2 | Karl Freiherr Haus von Hausen | April 1861 – 23 September 1884 | Karl Freiherr Haus von Hausen cabinet | Johann II | [10] | |||||
| scope=row style="background:" | 3 | Carl von In der Maur | 23 September 1884 – 5 September 1892 | First Carl von In der Maur cabinet | [11] | |||||
| scope=row style="background:" | 4 | Friedrich Stellwag von Carion | 5 September 1892 – 24 October 1896 † | Friedrich Stellwag von Carion cabinet | [12] | |||||
| scope=row style="background:" | (3) | Carl von In der Maur | 4 January 1897 – 11 December 1913 † | Second Carl von In der Maur cabinet | ||||||
| scope=row style="background:" | — | Josef Ospelt | 11 December 1913 – 1 April 1914 | — | [13] | |||||
| scope=row style="background:" | 5 | Leopold Freiherr von Imhof | 1 April 1914 – 13 November 1918 | Leopold Freiherr von Imhof cabinet | [14] | |||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | — | Martin Ritter | 7 November 1918 – 7 December 1918 | Provisional Executive Committee | VP | [15] | ||||
| scope=row style="background:" | 6 | Prince Karl Aloys of Liechtenstein | 13 December 1918 – 15 December 1920 | Prince Karl Aloys cabinet | Ind | [16] | ||||
| scope=row style="background:" | 7 | Josef Peer | 15 December 1920 – 23 March 1921 | Josef Peer cabinet | [17] | |||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 8 | Josef Ospelt | 23 March 1921 – 5 October 1921 | Josef Ospelt cabinet | FBP | |||||
The German: Regierungschef is the current title for the head of government. The office replaced that of State Administrator upon the ratification of the constitution of Liechtenstein on 5 October 1921.
| scope=col rowspan=2 | scope=col rowspan=2 | Portrait | scope=col rowspan=2 | Name | scope=col rowspan=2 | Elected | Term of office | scope=col rowspan=2 | Cabinet | Party | scope=col rowspan=2 | Monarch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=col | Term | scope=col | Duration | |||||||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 1 | Josef Ospelt | — | 5 October 1921 – 4 May 1922 | Josef Ospelt cabinet | FBP | Johann II | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | — | Alfons Feger | 4 May 1922 – 1 June 1922 | — | VP | [18] | ||||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | — | Felix Gubelmann | 1 June 1922 – 6 June 1922 | FBP | [19] | |||||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 2 | Gustav Schädler | 1922 1926 (Jan) 1926 (Apr) | 10 June 1922 – 24 June 1928 | Gustav Schädler cabinet | VP | [20] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:" | — | Prince Alfred Roman of Liechtenstein | — | 24 June 1928 – 4 August 1928 | — | Ind | [21] | |||||||||
| 3 | Josef Hoop | 1928 1930 1932 1936 1939 1945 | 4 August 1928 – 3 September 1945 | I II III IV | FBP | [22] [23] | ||||||||||
| Franz I | ||||||||||||||||
| Franz Josef II | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Alexander Frick | 1949 1953 (Feb) 1953 (Jun) 1957 19581962 | 3 September 1945 – 16 July 1962 | I II III | [24] | |||||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 5 | Gerard Batliner | 1966 | 16 July 1962 – 18 March 1970 | I II III | [25] | ||||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 6 | Alfred Hilbe | 1970 | 18 March 1970 – 27 March 1974 | Alfred Hilbe Cabinet | VU | [26] [27] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 7 | Walter Kieber | 1974 | 27 March 1974 – 26 April 1978 | Walter Kieber cabinet | FBP | [28] [29] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 8 | Hans Brunhart | 1978 1982 1986 1989 | 26 April 1978 – 26 May 1993 | I II III IV | VU | [30] [31] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 9 | Markus Büchel | 1993 (Feb) | 26 May 1993 – 15 December 1993 | Markus Büchel cabinet | FBP | Hans-Adam II | [32] [33] | ||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 10 | Mario Frick | 1993 (Oct) 1997 | 15 December 1993 – 5 April 2001 | I II | VU | [34] [35] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 11 | Otmar Hasler | 2001 2005 | 5 April 2001 – 25 March 2009 | I II | FBP | [36] [37] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 12 | Klaus Tschütscher | 2009 | 25 March 2009 – 27 March 2013 | Klaus Tschütscher cabinet | VU | ||||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 13 | Adrian Hasler | 2013 2017 | 27 March 2013 – 25 March 2021 | I II | FBP | [38] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="background:; color:white" | 14 | Daniel Risch | 2021 | 25 March 2021 | Daniel Risch cabinet | VU | [39] | |||||||||
The deputy head of government is the secondary chief executive in Liechtenstein. One of the cabinet ministers is appointed to this position by the prince of Liechtenstein upon the proposal of the Landtag of Liechtenstein.
| Portrait | Name | Party | Took office | Duration | Prime Minister | |||||
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| 6 | Josef Büchel | |||||||||
| 7 | Alfred Hilbe | |||||||||
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| 9 | VU | |||||||||
| (8) | FBP | |||||||||
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