Ferdinand Risch (13 June 1880 – 16 April 1940) was a politician from

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

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 1928 to 1940. He was also

mayor of Schaan Schaan (; dialectal: ''Schaa'') is the largest municipality of Liechtenstein by population. It is located to the north of Vaduz, the capital, in the central part of the country. it has a population of 6,039, making it the most populous adminis ...

from 1927 to 1940.

Early life

Risch was born on 13 June 1880 in Schaan as the son of Johann Ferdinand Risch and Agatha Tanner as one of two children. He worked as a bricklayer in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, later as a farmer.

Political career

Risch 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 ...

in February 1918. From 1918 to 1921 he was a member of the Schaan municipal council and from 1927 to 1940 of the municipal tax commission, and also major of the municipality. In this position, he played a role in managing the response to the Rhine floods in 1927. In addition, his time as mayor oversaw the building of the , which opened in 1935. Landtag_of_Liechtenstein_1931

From 1928 to until his death in 1940, he was a member of the

as a member of the Progressive Citizens' Party. From 1914 to 1940 he was the treasurer of the Liechtenstein Livestock Insurance Association. In these roles, he advocated for the building of the

Liechtenstein inland canal The inland canal in Liechtenstein is a long artificial stream of water created between 1931 and 1943. The canal receives water from twelve Alpine streams and flows into the Alpine Rhine near the country's northern end. It is considered one of t ...

, which was approved in 1930, started construction in 1931 and then completed in 1943. During the

1939 Liechtenstein putsch The 1939 Liechtenstein putsch, also known as the Annexation putsch () was an unsuccessful coup d'état by the German National Movement in Liechtenstein ( or VDBL) on 24 March 1939 designed to provoke Liechtenstein's annexation by Nazi Germany. ...

, he played a role in organizing the opposition, alongside Anton Frommelt, which intercepted the marchers of the

German National Movement in Liechtenstein The German National Movement in Liechtenstein (, VDBL) was a Nazi party in Liechtenstein that existed between 1938 and 1945. Formation and ideology Nazi groups had existed in Liechtenstein since 1933, primarily because of the rise of Nazi Ge ...

(VDBL) outside of Schaan and convinced them to turn back.

Personal life

Risch married Maria Viktoria Beck (6 February 1883 – 15 April 1949) on 15 April 1912 and they had four children together. He died on 16 April 1940 in

Grabs, Switzerland Grabs is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Werdenberg (Wahlkreis), Werdenberg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Grabs is first menti ...

, aged 59 years old.

Honours

* : Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein (1937)

Early life

Political career

Personal life

Honours

References

Further reading