Government & politics — Liechtenstein
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Liechtenstein: Principality of Liechtenstein
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Principality of Liechtenstein
- Country Name
Liechtenstein
- Local - Long
Fuerstentum Liechtenstein
- Local - Short
Liechtenstein
- Etymology- history of name
named after the Liechtenstein dynasty that purchased and united the counties of Schellenburg and Vaduz and that was allowed by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1719 to rename the new property after their family; the name in German means "light (bright) stone"
- Independence
- 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established)
- 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire)
- 24 August 1866 (independence from the German Confederation)
- National Holiday
- National Day, 15 August (1940)
- note - a National Day was originally established in 1940 to combine celebrations for the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) with those honoring the birthday of former Prince FRANZ JOSEF II (1906-1989) whose birth fell on 16 August
- after the prince's death, National Day became the official national holiday by law in 1990
Political system
- Government Type
constitutional monarchy
- Constitution
- history: previous 1862;
- latest adopted 5 October 1921 amendments: proposed by Parliament, by the reigning prince (in the form of "Government" proposals), by petition of at least 1,500 qualified voters, or by at least four communes; passage requires unanimous approval of Parliament members in one sitting or three-quarters majority vote in two successive sittings; referendum required only if petitioned by at least 1,500 voters or by at least four communes; passage by referendum requires absolute majority of votes cast; amended many times, last in 2020
- Legal System:
civil law system influenced by Swiss, Austrian, and German law
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: Pres
- ident Gitanas NAUSEDA (since 12 July 2019) head of government: Acting
- Prime Minister Rimantas SADZIUS (since 4 August 2025) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, appointed by the president,
- approved by Parliament election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president,
- approved by Parliament most recent election date: 26
- May 2024 election results: 2024: Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in second round; percent of vote -Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 75.6%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (TS-LKD) 24.4% 2019: Gitanas NAUSEDA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Gitanas NAUSEDA (independent) 66.7%, Ingrida SIMONYTE (independent) 33.3%
- expected date of next election: 2029
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral Parliament or Landtag (25 seats; members directly elected in 2 multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections
last held on 7 February 2021 (next to be held on 7 February 2025)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - FBP 40%, VU 40%, FL 12%, DpL 8%
- seats by party - FBP 10, VU 10, FL 3, DpL 2;
Composition
men 18, women 7, percent of women 28%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supreme Court or Fürstlicher Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 5 judges and 5 substitutes); Constitutional Court or Staatsgerichtshof (consists of 5 judges,
- and 5 alternates) judge selection and term of office: judges of both courts elected by the Landtag and appointed by the monarch; Supreme Court judges serve 4-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court j
- udges appointed for renewable 5-year terms subordinate courts: Court of Appeal (second instance), Regional Court (first instance), Administrative Court, Tribunal Court, district courts
- Regions or States:
11 communes (Gemeinden, singular - Gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Democrats for Liechtenstein (Demokraten pro Liechtenstein) or DpL [Thomas REHAK]
- Fatherland Union (Vaterlaendische Union) or VU [Thomas ZWIEFELHOFER]
- Progressive Citizens' Party (Fortschrittliche Buergerpartei) or FBP [Rainer GOPP]
- The Free List (Die Freie Liste) or FL [Daniel WALSER, Joy WALSER, Mauela HALDNER-SCHIERSCHER, Sebastian MEIER, Stefan BECKER]
- The Independents (Die Unabhaengigen) or DU [Harald "Harry" QUADERER]
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Liechtenstein; in the case of a child born out of wedlock,
- no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Vaduz
- Capital - geographic coordinate
47 08 N, 9 31 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Daylight Savings Time
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
International role
- International Organization Participation:
CD, CE, EBRD, EFTA, IAEA, ICCt, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WIPO, WTO
- International Law Organization Participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
embassy
the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein; the US Ambassador to Switzerland is accredited to Liechtenstein
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Georg SPARBER (since 1 December 2021)
chancery
2900 K Street NW, Suite 602B, Washington, DC 20007
telephone
[1] (202) 331-0590
FAX
[1] (202) 331-3221
Email address and website
- washington@llv.li
- https://www.liechtensteinusa.org/
