Liechtenstein politician (born 1958)
Johannes Kaiser (born 29 June 1958) is a politician from Liechtenstein who has served in the Landtag of Liechtenstein since 2001. He previously served as mayor of Mauren from 1991 to 2003.
Career
Kaiser was born on 29 June 1958 in Eschen as one of the five children of teacher Paul Kaiser and Brigitte Biedermann. He attended a teachers' training college in Rickenbach, Schwyz, and later trained in communication and management in St. Gallen. He worked as a primary school teacher in Ruggell, and then as a secondary school teacher in Eschen until 1991.[1]
From 1987 to 1991 Kaiser was the vice president of the Progressive Citizens' Party.[1] He was the mayor of Mauren from 1991 to 2003.[2] He has been a member of the Landtag of Liechtenstein since 2001. During this time, he was the Progressive Citizens' Party's spokesman in the Landtag from 2009 to 2013 and the chairman of the finance committee from 2003 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2013, 2017 to 2018, and again since 2021 he has been a member of the Liechtenstein judge selection committee.[1]
In March 2018, Kaiser left the Progressive Citizens' Party due to personal conflicts with people in the party and rejected talks to resolve the situation.[3] He also resigned from the judge selection committee in June of the same year.[4] He served as an independent member of the Landtag until 27 November 2019 where, upon his own request, he was readmitted into the party. He apologised for his actions and referred to them as a "mistake", and the issue was concluded by shaking hands with prime minister Adrian Hasler.[5] He was subsequently re-elected to the Landtag as a member of the party in 2021 and re-joined the judge selection committee the same year.[1]
Kaiser was the leading opponent to Liechtenstein's accession to the International Monetary Fund in 2024; he campaigned against it. During this time, he was accused by prime minister Daniel Risch of spreading misinformation.[6][7] As of 2024,[update] he was running for re-election to the Landtag in the 2025 Liechtenstein general election.[8]
Personal life
Kaiser married Ruth Hasler (born 6 May 1962) on 23 May 1990. His second marriage was to Julia Kajtazaj (born 13 June 1974) on 22 September 1999 and they have two children together.[1] He is the brother-in-law of Maria Kaiser-Eberle, the mayor of Ruggell from 2015 to 2023.[9]
References
