Josef Hoop
Josef Hoop | |
|---|---|
Hoop in 1945 | |
| Prime Minister of Liechtenstein | |
| In office 4 August 1928 – 3 September 1945 | |
| Monarchs |
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| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Prince Alfred Roman of Liechtenstein (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Frick |
| President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein | |
| In office January 1958 – 19 October 1959 | |
| Monarch | Franz Joseph II |
| Vice President | Alois Vogt |
| Preceded by | David Strub |
| Succeeded by | Martin Risch |
| Member of the Landtag of Liechtenstein for Oberland | |
| In office 1 September 1957 – 19 October 1959 | |
| Succeeded by | Hans Gassner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 December 1895 Eschen, Liechtenstein |
| Died | 19 October 1959 (aged 63) Chur, Switzerland |
| Spouse |
Emilie Gstöhl (m. 1920) |
| Relations | Eugen Schädler (brother-in-law) Emma Eigenmann-Schädler (niece) |
| Signature | |
Franz Josef Hoop (German: [ˈfʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈhoːp]; 14 December 1895 – 19 October 1959) was a diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1928 to 1945. A member of the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), he later served as the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1958 until his death in 1959.
Hoop initially worked as the attaché and chargé d'affaires at the Liechtenstein legation in Vienna and then in the Swiss customs administration before being elected as prime minister following the 1928 general election. In his first years in office, he oversaw Liechtenstein's response to the Great Depression through economic programs. Starting from 1933, his government faced numerous domestic and foreign challenges, such as the Rotter kidnapping, the 1937 spy affair, and the 1939 putsch. In 1938, his government entered into a coalition government with the opposition Patriotic Union (VU). During World War II, Hoop considered friendly, non-binding, and non-provocative diplomacy to be appropriate towards Nazi Germany, supplemented by courtesy gestures. At the same time, he tied the country as closely as possible to Switzerland and successfully maintained the country's neutrality throughout the war. He was pressured to resign by Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein in 1945.
Following his resignation, Hoop studied law and then worked as a lawyer in Vaduz beginning in 1948. He returned to politics in 1957 when he was elected to the Landtag of Liechtenstein, for which he was also the president from 1958 to 1959. A habitual smoker throughout his adult life, Hoop died due to heart failure in 1959. His services to Liechtenstein, particularly during World War II, were widely recognized, with Franz Joseph II saying in retrospect that "Hoop saved the country".