On February 14, 1945, HSH Prince Johannes (Hans) Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marko d’Aviano Pius von und zu Liechtenstein was born in Zurich, Switzerland to HSH Prince Francis Joseph II and HSH Princess Georgine “Gina” Norberte Johanna Franziska Antonie Marie Raphaela von Wilczek.
Besides speaking four languages fluently, the dashing Prince is highly educated. In 1969, he graduated from the University of St. Gellen in Switzerland with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics.
In 1967, HSH The Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam married Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The couple eventually had four children, and today they are proud grandparents of fourteen.
On November 13, 1989, Hans-Adam II ascended to the throne and became the Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein. With a head for business, HSH Prince Hans-Adam is the wealthiest ruler in Europe having amassed a personal fortune over 12.1 billion US dollars (9 billion Euros.)
In 2009, HSH Prince Hans-Adam published a book entitled, The State in the Third Millennium, whereupon he discusses the issue of:
...the centrality of democracy in the modern nation-state and makes the case for limited government: ‘[The United States and Europe] have to free the state from all the unnecessary tasks and burdens with which it has been loaded during the last hundred years, which have distracted it from its two main tasks: maintenance of the rule of law and foreign policy.’ Using the examples of China and Russia to illustrate the difficulty of transitioning from dictatorships to democracy, he asserts the primacy of establishing economic freedom. Finally, he speaks to the importance of America maintaining its preeminent role in world affairs. (Hoover Institution, Stanford University)
I haven’t read the book, but after watching a lengthy interview with the Prince I must say that I am intrigued with his thesis. To watch the interview with HSH Prince Hans-Adam please click the link: An Interview with HSH Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein
Any way, Happy 66th Birthday to Prince Hans-Adam. You’re awesome!