Albert Schädler
President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein
In office
January 1890 – December 1918
MonarchJohann II
Preceded byWilhelm Schlegel
Succeeded byFritz Walser
In office
January 1882 – December 1885
MonarchJohann II
Preceded byWilhelm Schlegel
Succeeded byWilhelm Schlegel
Personal details
Born24 December 1848
Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Died17 June 1922 (aged 72)
Munich, Germany
Spouse
Albertine Berl
​
​
(m. 1872; died 1899)​
Children2
Parent(s)Karl Schädler
Katharina Walser

Albert Schädler (/ʃˈɛdlər/, German: [ˈalbɛɐt ʃˈɛdlɜ]; 24 December 1848 – 17 June 1922) was a physician, historian and political figure from Liechtenstein who served as the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein 1882 to 1885 and again from 1890 to 1918.

A member of the prominent 19th-century Schädler family, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in politics and healthcare in Liechtenstein's history.[1]

Early life

Schädler was born on 24 December 1848 in Vaduz to the son of politician and later President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein Karl Schädler and his mother Katharina Walser as one of nine children, including his brothers Karl Schädler and Rudolf Schädler.[1][2]

From 1859 to 1867 he attended secondary school in Feldkirch, Mehrerau and Schwyz. From 1868 to 1971 he studied medicine in the University of Vienna, Zürich and Giessen, where he received a doctorate in medicine. In addition, from 1879 he conducted language studies in Paris, Lyon and London until 1887, where he learned to speak French and English.[1]

Medical career and patronage

From 1872 to 1910, Schädler and his brother Rudolf ran the medical practice in Vaduz that they took over from their father.[1][3] In 1872, the two commissioned a new residential building in Vaduz with rooms for their practice by the Austrian architect Seraphin Pümpel.[4] From 1873 to 1890 he worked as a spa doctor in Bad Ragaz and Pfäfers. For this purpose, he wrote a book focused on the field in 1886 and obtained the Federal Concordat Diploma in 1877.[1]

From 1900 to 1910 the Liechtenstein government called on Schädler as a medical expert within the country, in which he was consulted in improving water supplies within the country and increased training for midwives. In 1914, temporarily replaced Felix Batliner as deputy state physicist while he was doing voluntary work in an Austrian hospital.[1]

Schädler frequently promoted and engaged in social life and culture in Liechtenstein. In 1879, together with his brother Rudolf, they organized Liechtenstein's first music festival, wrote poems and appeared as a public speaker in many public events within the country. In addition, from 1873 to 1878 he wrote articles for his brother's newspaper, Liechtensteiner Wochenzeitung. He was a co-founder of the Historical Association for the Principality of Liechtenstein, and its first president from 1901 to 1922, where he published several works regarding the history of the country. He bequeathed his collection of the country's historical files and documents, ensuring their preservation.[1]

Schädler (right) and his brother Karl on the site of the Fürstensteig, 1898.

Upon his brother Karl's death in 1907, Schädler and Rudolf inherited the Kurhaus Gaflei - a foundation in order to establish a school for housekeeping, though this did not come to fruition due to hyperinflation caused by economic devastation brought to the country during World War I.[1][3][5]

Political career

From 1882 to 1886 and again from 1890 to 1919 Schädler was a member of the Landtag of Liechtenstein, and also the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein.[1][6] He refused to accept his nomination to the 1886 Liechtenstein general election due to work in Bad Ragaz, instead becoming a substitute.[7] He held considerable influence within the Landtag, he chaired the majority of the commissions conducted and held a close relationship with the consecutive Governors of Liechtenstein during his time there.[1] Most notably, Schädler defended the freedoms granted by the 1862 Constitution of Liechtenstein, and when Governor Friedrich Stellwag von Carion attempted to decrease the power of the Landtag and imposed a temporary censorship on the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt in 1894, he opposed the actions and pushed for improvements in social legislation.[1][8] In 1909 he suggested the introduction of old-age pensions and disability insurance, though this did not fall through.[1]

In 1914, politician Wilhelm Beck formed an opposition group against Governor Leopold Freiherr von Imhof, which Schädler too became a target of due to his closeness with Imhof.[1][9] Schädler's ideas became the founding ideas of the Progressive Citizens' Party in 1918, though he himself opposed the formation of parties in the Landtag and remained an independent. In the 1918 Liechtenstein general election, he failed to reach the number of votes to be elected but was then appointed by Johann II.[1]

On the November 1918 Liechtenstein putsch, Wilhelm Beck, Martin Ritter and Fritz Walser proposed a motion of no confidence against Leopold Freiherr von Imhof. While the Landtag unanimously expressed its confidence in him it was decided, against the constitution and the princely appointed Landtag members, to transfer the power of governor to a provisional executive committee led by Martin Ritter.[10] Schädler attempted to prevent the establishment of the committee and similarly to the other two Landtag members appointed by Johann II resigned in protest to the coup.[1][11] On 30 March 1919, he formally left the Landtag as he did not approve of the political developments within Liechtenstein, particularly of the country's constitutional revision.[1][12]

Later life and death

After leaving the Landtag in March 1919, Schädler moved to Munich to live with his daughter, where he died on 17 June 1922, aged 73 years old. A street in Eschen is named after him.[1]

Personal life and family

Schädler with his wife Albertine Berl in 1875.

Schädler married Albertine Berl (6 October 1847 – 2 March 1899), the daughter of Feldkirch postmaster Theodor Berl, on 16 April 1872 and they had two children together.[1] His nephew Rudolf Schädler was a founder and leader of the German National Movement in Liechtenstein in 1938.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rheinberger, Rudolf (31 December 2011). "Schädler, Albert". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Rheinberger, Rudolf (31 December 2011). "Schädler, Karl (1804–1872)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 Rheinberger, Rudolf (31 December 2011). "Schädler, Rudolf (1845–1930)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Herrmann, Cornelia (31 December 2023). "Schädlerhaus". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Editorial (31 December 2011). "Schädler, Karl (1850–1907)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Mitglieder - Präsidenten" (in German). March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27.
  7. ↑ Vogt, Paul (1987). 125 Jahre Landtag. Vaduz: Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
  8. ↑ Rheinberger, Rudolf (31 December 2011). "Stellwag von Carion, Friedrich". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Leipold-Schneider, Gerda (31 December 2011). "Beck, Wilhelm". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Quaderer, Rupert (31 December 2011). "Novemberputsch 1918". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Rupert, Quaderer. "Der 7. November 1918. Staatsstreich – Putsch – Revolution oder politisches Spektakel im Kleinstaat Liechtenstein?". Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein. 93: 204–212.
  12. ↑ Rupert, Quaderer. "Der 7. November 1918. Staatsstreich – Putsch – Revolution oder politisches Spektakel im Kleinstaat Liechtenstein?". Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein. 93: 204–212.
  13. ↑ Marxer, Wilfried (31 December 2011). "Volksdeutsche Bewegung in Liechtenstein (VDBL)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 14 November 2023.
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