Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
 | H.S.H. The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein |
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Hereditary Prince
Alois Philipp Maria of Liechtenstein (German:
Erbprinz Alois Philipp Maria von und zu Liechtenstein) (born
11 June 1968 in
Zürich), is the eldest son of
Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein and his wife
Princess Marie of Liechtenstein. He has been Regent of
Liechtenstein (
Stellvertreter des Fürsten) since
15 August 2004.
He attended the Liechtenstein Grammar School in
Vaduz-Ebenholz and the
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in the
United Kingdom. He served in the
Coldstream Guards in
Hong Kong and
London for six months before entering
University of Salzburg, graduating with a master's degree in jurisprudence in 1993.
Until 1996 he worked at a London auditing company; in May 1996 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 undertaking representative duties for Liechtenstein.
On
Liechtenstein Day (
15 August) in 1990, he and his father publicly and jointly swore to uphold the
Constitution.
Hans-Adam II won sweeping new powers (the right to
veto laws and elect judges) in a Constitutional
referendum in 2003.
On Liechtenstein Day 2004 Prince Hans-Adam II formally turned the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions over to his son Erbprinz Alois, as a way of preparing for the transition to a new generation. (Hans-Adam remains
Head of State).
On
27 November,
2005, Liechtenstein voters rejected an initiative that would prohibit abortion and birth control in the principality. Instead, a government-sponsored counterproposal was ratified. The anti-abortion initiative was supported by
Roman Catholic Archbishop
Wolfgang Haas. Hereditary Prince Alois was initially sympathetic to anti-abortion proposal, but became neutral during the run-up to the vote.
On
3 July 1993, at St. Florin's in
Vaduz, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein married HRH
Sophie, Duchess in Bavaria. They have four children:
*
Prince Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria von und zu Liechtenstein (born
24 May 1995 in London)
Princess Marie-Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata von und zu Liechtenstein (born
17 October 1996 in Grabs,
Canton of St. Gallen)
Prince Georg Antonius Constantin Maria von und zu Liechtenstein (born
20 April 1999 in Grabs)
Prince Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria von und zu Liechtenstein (born
6 December 2000, in Grabs)
*
List of Princes of Liechtenstein*
Line of succession to the Throne of Liechtenstein*
Princely Family of LiechtensteinAlois of Liechtenstein was also the name of the grandfather of Hans Adam II, thus the great-grandfather of the current Alois.
