Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein
| Franz Joseph II | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Liechtenstein | |
 Franz Josef II on his 82nd birthday (1988-8-16) | |
| Reign | July 25, 1938 - November 13, 1989 |
| Predecessor | Franz I |
| Successor | Hans-Adam II |
| Issue | Hans-Adam II, Phillipp, Nikolaus, Nora, Franz Joseph |
| House | House of Liechtenstein |
| Father | Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein |
| Mother | Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria |
Franz Josef II, Prince of Liechtenstein, (Franz Joseph Maria Aloys Alfred Karl Johannes Heinrich Michael Georg Ignaz Benediktus Gerhardus Majella), (August 16, 1906, Schloss Frauenthal, Styria, Austria – November 13, 1989) was the prince of Liechtenstein from 1938 until his death. His full title was Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein, Herzog von Troppau und Jägerndorf, Graf zu Rietberg.
He was son of Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein and his wife Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria (daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig). He succeeded his childless cousin, Prince Franz I, after his father renounced his right of succession in his favour in 1921.
During his reign women received voting rights for the first time, following a referendum on the topic (among men only) in 1984.
Franz Josef was an extremely popular monarch in Liechtenstein. He was the first ruling prince to live full-time in the principality. He also oversaw the economic development of Liechtenstein from a poor agricultural backwater into one of the richest countries (per capita) in the world.
Liechtenstein remained neutral throughout World War II, and its neutrality was never violated by any of the combatants. However, two factors have linked the Lichtensteinian state to the Axis cause:
- In 2005, it was revealed that Franz Josef II profitted directly from the Holocaust. Labourers from the Strasshof concentration camp, provided by the SS, had worked on estates in Austria owned by the Liechtensteinian royal house.[1] The family also bought property in Austria and Czechoslovakia which had been taken from Jews by the Nazis.
- At the end of the war, Liechtenstein gave asylum to about 500 soldiers of the First Russian National Army (a collaborationist Russian force within the German Wehrmacht). Eventually, Argentina agreed to permanently resettle the asylum seekers. In contrast, the British repatriated the Russians who fought on the side of Germany to the USSR.
On 7 March 1943, at Vaduz, Franz Josef II married Countess Georgine "Gina" of Wilczeck (24 October 1921-18 October 1989). They had five children:
- Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam (born 1945)
- Prince Phillipp (born 1946)
- Prince Nikolaus (born 1947)
- Princess Norberta (born 1950)
- Franz Josef Wenzeslaus "Wenzel" (1962-1991)
Franz Josef handed over most of his powers to his son, Hans-Adam, in 1984. Franz Josef II died in november 13, 1989, a mere twenty-six days after his wife. Ruling Liechtenstein for 51 years, he was the longest ruling monarch in Europe at the time of his death.
Ancestry
| Prince Franz of Liechtenstein | |||||||||||||||
| Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein | |||||||||||||||
| Julie Potocka | |||||||||||||||
| Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein | |||||||||||||||
| Alois II, Prince of Liechtenstein | |||||||||||||||
| Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein | |||||||||||||||
| Franziska Kinsky | |||||||||||||||
| Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein | |||||||||||||||
| Archduke Franz Karl of Austria | |||||||||||||||
| Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria | |||||||||||||||
| Princess Sophie of Bavaria | |||||||||||||||
| Elisabeth Amalia of Austria | |||||||||||||||
| Miguel I of Portugal | |||||||||||||||
| Maria Theresa of Portugal | |||||||||||||||
| Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg | |||||||||||||||
Footnotes
- ^ BBC, "Nazi crimes taint Liechtenstein" 14 April, 2005 Access date: April 3, 2007.