# Daniel Risch

Daniel Risch (German pronunciation:; born 5 March 1978) is a Liechtensteiner politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein since 2021. He was previously the Deputy Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021, under the government of Adrian Hasler.

## Early career

Risch attended Liechtenstein Grammar School in Vaduz from 1990 to 1998, and received a business baccalaureate. He later studied business administration at the Swiss universities of St. Gallen and Zurich, as well as the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich from 1999 to 2003. He graduated with a degree in economics (lic. oec. publ.) from the University of Zurich.
Risch then started doctoral studies in business informatics at the University of Freiburg in 2004, and from 2006 to 2007 was a visiting scholar at the University of Melbourne as part of a research stay. During this period, he also worked as a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland [de]. He completed his studies at Freiburg in 2007 and received a doctorate in economics (dr. rer. pol.).
From 2007, he was the Project Manager, Head of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer at Unic AG, an e-business consulting company, in Zurich and Bern. From 2015 until entering government in 2017, he worked as Chief Marketing Officer at Liechtensteinische Post.
From 2015 to 2017, he was a board member at a Liechtensteiner forum for information and communications technology (IKT Forum Liechtenstein).

## Prime Minister of Liechtenstein

Following the 2017 Liechtenstein general election, he was nominated as Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein in a coalition government with the Progressive Citizens' Party. As deputy prime minister, he also served as Minister of Infrastructure, Economic Affairs and Sports. The 2021 Liechtenstein general election resulted in a virtual tie between the Patriotic Union and the Progressive Citizens' Party, and Risch was appointed as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein on 25 March 2021, heading a new coalition government with the Progressive Citizens' Party leader Sabine Monauni.
Risch has supported increased cooperation and integration between the European Union and European Free Trade Association, in addition to further progress to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. His government has spearheaded Liechtenstein's support for Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, starting in February 2022. He was a signatory of the June 2024 Ukraine peace summit.
From November 2023 to May 2024 Liechtenstein held the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, headed by foreign minister Dominique Hasler. Risch, together with Hasler, started the government-funded Book of Europe project in spring 2024, during Liechtenstein's presidency of the Council of Europe. In the book, the heads of government of the 46 members of the council were asked to write their thoughts and vision of Europe, which 33 did so. The book was published in February 2025.
During his term in office, in November 2022, the Landtag of Liechtenstein passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, with broad support from across the political spectrum. A bill legalizing same-sex marriage was introduced in February 2024 and passed its final reading in the Landtag on 16 May 2024 by a 24–1 vote.
He was a prominent advocate for Liechtenstein's accession to the International Monetary Fund, and his government started the proceedings for it in 2024. Liechtenstein joined the IMF on 21 October 2024. This came after a successful referendum was held the previous month.
In February 2024, Risch announced that he would not be running for re-election in the 2025 Liechtenstein general election.

## Personal life

Since 2009, Risch has been a member of the Founding Committee, Organising Committee and Patronage Body of the FL1.LIFE festival in Schaan.
He is married to Jasmin Schädler (born 20 October 1974) and they have two children together. He lives in Triesen.

## Honours

* Austria: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold (2024)