Prince Stefan of Liechtenstein

His Serene Highness Prince Stefan of Liechtenstein Count of Rietberg
Prince Stefan in October 2008
Ambassador of Liechtenstein to Switzerland
In office June 2001 – summer 2007
Ambassador of Liechtenstein to Germany
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 March 2007
Preceded by	Josef Wolf
Personal details
Born	14 November 1961 Klagenfurt, Austria
Spouse(s)	Countess Florentine of Thun and Hohenstein
Children	Prince Lukas Prince Konrad Princess Anna Princess Rita
Alma mater	University of Innsbruck
Religion	Roman Catholicism

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

Personal life

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]

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

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 in Zurich, and then for the USB 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

• Maria-Pia Kothbauer, Princess of Liechtenstein - Liechtenstein's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Austria and the Czech Republic
• Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein - Liechtenstein's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See

References

1. "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.