Emil Batliner (19 April 1869 – 11 June 1947) was a Liechtensteiner entrepreneur and political figure who served in the

Landtag of Liechtenstein The Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein () is the unicameral parliament of Liechtenstein. Qualifications Citizens who have attained the age of 18, have permanent residency in the country and have lived in the country for at least on ...

from 1909 to 1918 and again from 1926 to 1939. He was Mayor of Mauren from 1909 to 1918 and again from 1924 to 1930.

Early life

Batliner was born on 19 April 1869 in

Mauren Mauren (; High Alemannic: ''Muura'') is a municipality in Liechtenstein that is situated in the north of the country. It has a population of 4,401. The Curta mechanical calculator was produced by Contina AG, in Mauren.Bartholomäus Batliner and his mother Maria Ursula Meier as one of ten children. His father was a successful entrepreneur who earned his money by selling peat logs and running his own

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...

distillery. He worked as a farmer. Due to the poor economic situation in Liechtenstein in the late 19th century Batliner moved to

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

in 1890, but returned in 1893. He took over his father's distillery upon his death in 1912.

Career

From 1909 to 1918 and again from 1924 to 1930 he was a community leader in Mauren. During this time, he built an orphanage in 1912 and a teacher's house in 1913 within the municipality. He was a member of the state emergency commission, formed at the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

From 1910 to 1918 Batliner was a member of the

. After

Leopold Freiherr von Imhof Leopold Freiherr von Imhof (7 July 1869 – 30 April 1922) was an Austrian civil servant who served as the List of heads of government of Liechtenstein, Governor of Liechtenstein from 1914 to 1918. Early life and career Imhof was born on 7 Ju ...

was unconstitutionally removed as Governor of Liechtenstein in

November 1918 The following events occurred in November 1918: November 1, 1918 (Friday) * Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro (1918), Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro – The First Army (Serbia), Serbian First Army under comm ...

by opposition members Wilhelm Beck, Martin Ritter and

Fritz Walser Fritz Walser (16 November 1870 – 26 March 1950) was a politician from Liechtenstein who served as President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1919 to 1921. He also served in the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1906 to 1914, 1918 to 1922, and ...

they set up a provisional executive committee in his place. Batliner refused to be a member of the committee and promptly resigned from the Landtag. In 1918 Batliner was a founding member of the

Progressive Citizens' Party The Progressive Citizens' Party in Liechtenstein (, FBP) is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Liechtenstein, political party in Liechtenstein. The FBP is one of the two major party, major List of political parties in Liech ...

and was a deputy district administrator from 1919 to 1921. He was a member of the Liechtenstein delegation of negotiations with Switzerland for forming closer economic ties, which cultivated in a

customs union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...

being formed between the two countries in 1924. From

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

to 1939 he was once again was a member of the Landtag of Liechtenstein. He was Vice President of the Landtag four times – from 1926 to 1928, 1932 to 1933, 1934 to 1935 and finally from 1937 to 1938. He was a member of the state aid commission after the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

collapse in 1927. Since the rise of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1933 and the introduction of

anti-Jewish laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...

in the country Liechtenstein experienced a large rise of Jewish emigrants to the country in which Batliner supported the government led by

Josef Hoop Franz Josef Hoop (; 14 December 1895 – 19 October 1959) was a diplomat and politician from Liechtenstein who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1928 to 1945. He later served as the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 19 ...

in the

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

of the refugees under a new citizenship law.

Personal life

Batliner married Emilie Walser (26 October 1872 – 18 January 1955) on 27 September 1893 and they had twelve children together, four of whom emigrated to the United States and Brazil. He died on 11 June 1947, aged 78 years old.

References

Bibliography