Josef Gassner (politician)

Josef Gassner (12 April 1876 – 15 January 1951) was a political figure from Liechtenstein who served in the Landtag of Liechtenstein.

Josef Gassner
Gassner in 1928
Personal details
Born12 April 1876
Triesenberg, Liechtenstein
Died15 January 1951 (aged 74)
Triesenberg, Liechtenstein
Political partyChristian-Social People's Party
Spouse(s)
Katharina Beck
(m. 1900; died 1923)

Katharina Beck
(m. 1937)
Children8

Early life edit

Gassner was born on 12 April 1876 in Triesenberg as the son of Landtag member by the same name and his mother Maria Anna Bühler as one of two children. He worked as a farmer.[1]

Career edit

 
Gassner (third from left on the back) with members of the Landtag, 1921.

From 1906 to 1942 he was a school councillor in Triesenberg. From 1906 to 1912 he was a community treasurer in the town and from 1915 to 1924. From 1910 to 1914 and again from 1917 to 1930 he served as a member of the Landtag of Liechtenstein.[2] As a member of the Landtag, Gassner wrote contracts, wills and petitions to the government for many people and provided information in legal matters regarding Triesenberg.[1] He also played a role in the country's constitutional revision, which led to the ratification of the Constitution of Liechtenstein on 5 October 1921.[3][4] From 1922 to 1927 he was president and from 1927 to 1930 Vice Chairman of the board of directors at the Lawena power plant in Triesenberg, of which he had advocated for its building.[1]

 
Gassner (centre-right) with Peter Büchel, Josef Hoop and Ferdinand Nigg, 1928.

Gassner served as a government councillor in the first Hoop cabinet from 6 August 1928. He resigned from this position and in the Landtag on 18 March 1932 due to the Progressive Citizens' Party and Christian-Social People's Party disagreeing on when elections should be held, with the Christian-Social People's Party believing that they should be held in 1930 due to the 1928 Liechtenstein general election as only continuing the term that started after the April 1926 general elections.[2] This resulted in the 1930 Liechtenstein by-election and granting the Progressive Citizens' Party an absolute majority in the Landtag.[5]

From 1929 to he was the Chairman of the Christian-Social People's Party and became an honorary member from 1931. He was a member of the state tax commission from 1935 to 1939. Gassner died on 15 January 1951, aged 74 years old.[1]

Personal life edit

Gassner married Katharina Beck (7 January 1878 – 9 August 1923) on 5 February 1900 and they had six children together. He then went on to marry Katharina Beck[a] (8 June 1899 – 20 March 1993) on 3 June 1937 and they had another two children together.[1]

Honours edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ This is what the source says. This could be presumed to be an error, or they actually shared the same name.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Büchel, Donat (31 December 2011). "Gassner, Josef (1876–1951)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Paul Vogt (1987). 125 Jahre Landtag. Vaduz: Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
  3. ^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1156 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  4. ^ Arthur Brunhart (1996). Die Schlossabmachungen vom September 1920. Studien und Quellen zur politischen Geschichte des Fürstentums Liechtenstein im frühen 20. Jahrhundert (in German). Vaduz: Vaterländischen Union.
  5. ^ Dieter Nohlen; Philip Stöver (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook (in German). p. 1182. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.