Prince Stefan of Liechtenstein

Summary

Prince Stefan Carl Manfred Alfred Alexander Joseph Maria of Liechtenstein (born 14 November 1961) is Liechtenstein's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See and former Ambassador to Germany and Switzerland.

Prince Stefan of Liechtenstein
Prince Stefan in October 2008
Ambassador of Liechtenstein to Switzerland
In office
June 2001 – summer 2007
Ambassador of Liechtenstein to Germany
In office
26 March 2007 – July 2017
Preceded byJosef Wolf
Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the Holy See
Assumed office
December 2017
Personal details
Born (1961-11-14) 14 November 1961 (age 62)
Klagenfurt, Austria
Spouse(s)
Countess Florentine of Thun and Hohenstein
(m. 1988)
ChildrenPrince Lukas
Prince Konrad
Princess Anna
Princess Rita
Parent(s)Prince Alexander of Liechtenstein
Princess Josephine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Alma materUniversity of Innsbruck

Personal life edit

Prince Stefan was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, and grew up on the family estate in Rosegg, a Carinthian town close to the Slovenian border. His parents are Prince Alexander of Liechtenstein and Princess Josephine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. Prince Stefan and his twin brother, the physician Prince Christian, are the elder two of the couple's three sons, the third one being Prince Emanuel. Prince Stefan belongs to the most junior extant line of the House of Liechtenstein, being descended from Prince Johann I Joseph's son Eduard Franz. His maternal uncle is Alois-Konstantin, 9th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and he is distantly related to Liechtenstein's present sovereign, Prince Hans-Adam II.[1][dead link]

Prince Stefan entered a dynastic marriage with Countess Florentine of Thun and Hohenstein in Vienna on 18 June 1988. Prince Stefan and Princess Florentine have four children: Prince Lukas (b. 1990), Prince Konrad (b. 1992), Princess Anna (b. 1994), and Princess Rita (b. 1999).[2]

Education and career edit

Having attended school in Carinthia, Prince Stefan studied business administration at the University of Innsbruck. At the beginning of 1987, he received his master's degree. From 1988 until 1991, he worked for the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in Zurich, and then for the same bank in Frankfurt as director for investment banking until 1995. From 1995 until 2001, Prince Stefan and his younger brother Emanuel ran a tourism project on the family estate in Rosegg.[1]

Prince Stefan became Ambassador of Liechtenstein to Switzerland in June 2001. He performed the function until the summer of 2007. In March 2007, he became Liechtenstein's third Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Germany.[1] In 2008, German authorities accused Liechtenstein of using its status as tax haven to help tax evaders escape prosecution and paid for stolen information on hundreds of investors. Prince Stefan defended his country's policy, saying: "One can't always assume that every customer who comes through the door is a criminal. We're not going to change our whole legal system, a system which includes the protection of the privacy of our citizens."[3][4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). regierung.li. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  2. ^ Kennedy, John; James, John E. (2004). Almanach de Gotha: Annual Genealogical Reference, Volume 1. Almanach de Gotha.
  3. ^ "The Mouse That Roared: Liechtenstein Furious at Germany Over Tax Probe". spiegel.de. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  4. ^ "The Mouse That Roared: Liechtenstein's Tax Mess". taxanalysts.com. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Josef Wolf
Ambassador of Liechtenstein to Germany
2007–2017
Succeeded by
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Prince Johannes
Line of succession to
the Liechtensteiner throne

49th position
Succeeded by
Prince Lukas