Hans Brunhart (; born 28 March 1945) is a politician and journalist from Liechtenstein who served as

Prime Minister of Liechtenstein The head of government of Liechtenstein (), known informally as the prime minister, is the chief executive of the Government of Liechtenstein and chairs the cabinet of Liechtenstein. They are appointed by the sovereign prince of Liechtenstein ...

from 1978 to 1993. He previously served as

Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein The head of government of Liechtenstein (), known informally as the prime minister, is the chief executive of the Government of Liechtenstein and chairs the cabinet of Liechtenstein. They are appointed by the sovereign prince of Liechtenstein ...

from 1974 to 1978, under the government of

Walter Kieber Walter Kieber (; 20 February 1931 – 21 June 2014) was a lawyer and politician from Liechtenstein who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1974 to 1978. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1970 to 1974 and agai ...

Prime Minister of Liechtenstein

Brunhart was

under the government of

from 27 March 1974 to 26 April 1978. He was

, serving from 26 April 1978 to 26 May 1993. The 1978 Liechtenstein general election resulted in a win for the Patriotic Union, and Brunhart was appointed as Prime Minister. Com LC0773-010-003

Brunhart's tenure was marked by significant changes in Liechtenstein's foreign policy. In 1978, Liechtenstein joined the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, and Brunhart, along with

Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (Nikolaus Ferdinand Maria Josef Raphael; born 24 October 1947) is a Liechtensteiner lawyer, diplomat and prince. He is a younger brother of the reigning prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. He was also the n ...

, held the presidency of the

Committee of Ministers The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ( French: ''Comité des ministres du Conseil de l'Europe'') or Committee of Ministers ( French: ''Comité des ministres'') is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It comprises the Fo ...

in 1987. In addition, Liechtenstein became a full member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 1990 following Security Council Resolution 663. Under his government, Liechtenstein became a member of the

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. ...

in its own right in 1991. During his tenure, women received voting rights for the first time, following a referendum on the topic (among men only) in 1984.

1992 crisis

On 6 December 1992 a referendum was to be held in Switzerland on a federal resolution on the accession to the European Economic Area (EEA). In correspondence with the

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 ...

between the two countries, a similar referendum was to be held in Liechtenstein at a similar time.Dataset: Liechtenstein: Referendum on the Agreement of European Economic Area 1992
European Election Database When planning on the date for the Liechtenstein referendum regarding accession to the EEA, prince

Hans-Adam II Hans-Adam II (Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marco d'Aviano Pius; born 14 February 1945) is the Prince of Liechtenstein, reigning since 1989. He is the son of Prince Franz Joseph II and his wife, Countess Georgina von Wilczek. He al ...

called for it to be held in advance of the corresponding one in Switzerland, against the wishes of the Brunhart and 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 ...

. On 28 October 1992, he threatened to dismiss the Landtag and Brunhart's government over the dispute and appoint an acting prime minister in his place. In response approximately 2000 people demonstrated in front of the government house in

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

. The same day, the government and Hans-Adam II negotiated and came to an agreement that scheduled the referendum after the corresponding one in Switzerland, though notably it affirmed that Liechtenstein would commit to agreements with the EEA despite the result in Switzerland. Liechtenstein subsequently joined the EEA in May the same year.

Resignation

The

February 1993 Liechtenstein general election General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 7 February 1993 to elect the 25 members of the Landtag. The Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) won twelve seats, with the Patriotic Union (VU) winning eleven. The Free List (FL) won two seats, being ...

resulted in a win for 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 ...

. As a result, Brunhart resigned on 26 May 1993 and was succeeded by

Markus Büchel Markus Büchel (; 14 May 1959 – 9 July 2013) was a lawyer and politician from Liechtenstein who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein in 1993. Serving for just under 7 months, he is the shortest serving prime minister in Liechtenstein's hi ...

Later life

From 1996 to 2012, Brunhart was chairman of the board directors of the

VP Bank VP Bank AG is a Liechtenstein-based bank headquartered in Vaduz and specialized in private banking. It was founded on April 6, 1956 by Princely Councillor of Commerce Guido Feger and is one of the three major banks in Liechtenstein along with th ...

. He has been an honorary member of the Patriotic Union since 1996 and is occasionally still consulted in politics, most recently by

Daniel Risch Daniel Risch (; born 5 March 1978) is a politician from Liechtenstein who served as the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 2021 to 2025. He was previously the Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, Deputy Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021, unde ...

in 2022. From 2004 to 2006 he was president of the Liechtenstein-Switzerland society and since 2004 president of the board of trustees in Haus Gutenberg foundation in

Balzers Balzers () is a municipality and village located in southern Liechtenstein. In 2024, the village had a population of 4,806. The main part of the village is situated along the east bank of the Rhine. History and culture Historically, the present- ...

. In 1995, Brunhart founded the annual magazine '' Balzner Neujahrsblätter'' and has remained an editor since.

Personal life

Brunhart married Bernadette Biedermann (born 5 August 1945) on 18 November 1972 and they have three children together. His brother,

Arthur Brunhart Arthur Brunhart (born 23 January 1952) is a historian and former politician from Liechtenstein who served as the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 2009 to 2013. Additionally, he served as mayor of Balzers from 2011 to 2015. Early ...

, served as President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 2009 to 2013.

Honours

* : Gold Medal of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria * : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein * : Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunhart, Hans 1945 births Living people People from Balzers Heads of government of Liechtenstein 20th-century heads of government of Liechtenstein Deputy heads of government of Liechtenstein Finance ministers of Liechtenstein Patriotic Union (Liechtenstein) members of the Landtag of Liechtenstein Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Liechtenstein journalists Education ministers of Liechtenstein Hans Brunhart Culture ministers of Liechtenstein 20th-century deputy heads of government of Liechtenstein Interior ministers of Liechtenstein