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| Country name: |
conventional long form:
Principality of Liechtenstein
conventional short form:
Liechtenstein
local long form:
Fuerstentum Liechtenstein
local short form:
Liechtenstein
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| Government type: |
hereditary constitutional monarchy
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| Administrative divisions: |
11 communes (gemeinden, singular - gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz
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| Independence: |
23 January 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established; 12 July 1806 established independence from the Holy Roman Empire
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| National holiday: |
Assumption Day, 15 August
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| Constitution: |
5 October 1921
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| Legal system: |
local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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| Suffrage: |
20 years of age; universal
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| Executive branch: |
chief of state:
Prince HANS ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, assumed executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS, son of the monarch (born 11 June 1968)
head of government:
Head of Government Mario FRICK (since 15 December 1993) and Deputy Head of Government Michael RITTER (since 2 February 1997)
cabinet:
Cabinet elected by the Diet; confirmed by the monarch
elections:
none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the Diet is usually appointed the head of government by the monarch and the leader of the largest minority party in the Diet is usually appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch
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| Legislative branch: |
unicameral Diet or Landtag (25 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote under proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 9-11 February 2001 (next to be held by NA 2005)
election results:
percent of vote by party - FBP 49.90%, VU 41.35%, FL 8.71%; seats by party - FBP 13, VU 11, FL 1
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| Judicial branch: |
Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Superior Court or Obergericht
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| Political parties and leaders: |
Fatherland Union or VU [Dr. Oswald KRANZ]; Progressive Citizens' Party or FBP [Dr. Ernst WALCH]; The Free List or FL [Dr. Pepo FRICK, Karin JENNY, Rene HASLER]
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| Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA
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| International organization participation: |
CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, IAEA, ICRM, IFRCS, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO (observer), WIPO, WTrO
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| Diplomatic representation in the US: |
Liechtenstein's Ambassador to the US, Claudia FRITSCHE, is dually accredited to the UN in New York
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| Diplomatic representation from the US: |
the US does not have an embassy in Liechtenstein, but the US Ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein
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| Flag description: |
two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band
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