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Mario Frick (politician)

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Mario Frick
Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
In office
15 December 1993 – 5 April 2001
MonarchHans-Adam II
DeputyThomas Büchel
Preceded byMarkus Büchel
Succeeded byOtmar Hasler
Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
In office
26 May 1993 – 15 December 1993
MonarchHans-Adam II
Prime MinisterMarkus Büchel
Preceded byHerbert Wille
Succeeded byThomas Büchel
Personal details
Born (1965-05-08) 8 May 1965 (age 59)
Chur, Switzerland
Political partyPatriotic Union
Spouse
Andrea Haberlander
​
(m. 1992)​
Children3

Mario K. Frick (born 8 May 1965) is a lawyer and politican from Liechtenstein who served as the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1993 to 2001.

Early life

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Frick was born on 8 May 1965 in Chur to trustee Kuno Frick and Melita Kaufmann as one of six children. From 1977 to 1985 he attended high school in Vaduz and proceeded to study law in University of St. Gallen, where he received a diploma in 1991.[1]

Prime Minister of Liechtenstein

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Frick was the Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from May 1993 under Markus Büchel until he resigned in October under pressure from the Progressive Citizens' Party after the Landtag of Liechtenstein withdrew its confidence in him, and Frick became Prime Minister of Liechtenstein.[2][3] Hans-Adam II subsequently called the October 1993 Liechtenstein general election which resulted in a win for the Patriotic Union.[4] He became Europe's youngest head of government at the time at 28 years old.[1]

During his tenure as prime minister, Liechtenstein entered the European Economic Area after a successful referendum in 1995, and also joined the World Trade Organization the same year.[5][6] However, it also faced problems in its foreign relations, such as a dispute with the Czech Republic begun in 1992 over the confiscation of Princely properties estates in 1945, and a 2001 dispute with Germany in the International Court of Justice over royal property confiscated in order to pay war debts.

In 1997, the Progressive Citizens' Party withdrew from the coalition government that had existed since 1938, making his second cabinet the first non-coalition cabinet since then.[1][7]

Later life

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After the end of his term as prime minister, Frick was notably prominent in the political controversy surrounding the 2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, whereby it was proposed that the ruling prince be given wider powers; a number of other measures were also proposed. Frick led the opposition to the proposed changes which, however, were subsequently approved by the electorate.[1][8]

Since 2002, Frick is a co-owner of the law firm Advocatur Seeger, Frick & Partner based in Schaan.[9] He was chairman of the board of directors of media company Vaduzer Medienhaus AG from 2003 to 2009.[1]

Personal life

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Frick married Andrea Haberlander (born 11 February 1965) on 16 September 1992 and they have three children together.[1]

Frick's brother Jürgen was shot and killed in the underground garage of Frick & Co. Bank in the town of Balzers on 7 April 2014.[10] The shooter, Jürgen Hermann, later shot and killed himself, and his body found in Lake Constance on the German side of the lake. Hermann tried to sue Frick in 2010 but the suit was thrown out by the courts.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Frick, Mario". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). 31 December 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Altregierungschef Markus Büchel gestorben". Liechtensteiner Vaterland (in German). 9 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Mitglieder der Regierung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein 1862–2021". www.regierung.li.
  4. ^ Dataset: Liechtenstein: Parliamentary Election 1993 - October European Election Database
  5. ^ Dataset: Liechtenstein: Referendum on the European Economic Area membership 1995 European Election Database
  6. ^ "AGREEMENT ON THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA". European Free Trade Association. 19 August 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. ^ Marxer, Wilfried (31 December 2011). "Patriotic Union (VU)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Referendum Results". IFES Election Guide. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  9. ^ "Team". www.sfplex.li. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  10. ^ "Liechtenstein bank chief shot dead". BBC News. 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Police identify body of banker killing suspect". The Local. 18 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19.
Preceded by Head of Government of Liechtenstein
1993–2001 		Succeeded by
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