Cornelia Gassner

Cornelia Gassner
Cornelia Gassner in 2014
Government Councillor of Construction and Transport
In office
26 May 1993 – 14 December 1993
MonarchHans-Adam II
Prime MinisterMarkus Büchel
In office
15 December 1993 – 14 April 1997
MonarchHans-Adam II
Prime MinisterMario Frick
Personal details
Born(1958-05-01)1 May 1958
Mauren
Died(2016-12-15)15 December 2016
Mauren
PartyProgressive Citizens' Party
EducationUniversity of Innsbruck (LL.D.)
London School of Economics and Political Science (LL.M)
OccupationPolitician, lawyer, translator

Cornelia Alma Gassner (nee Matt; 1 May 1958 – 15 December 2016) was a Liechtensteiner lawyer and politician. She was the first woman to serve as a government councillor in Liechtenstein (equivalent to a minister in most parliamentary systems).

Biography

Early career and education

Gassner was born Cornelia Matt in Mauren, Unterland in 1958. She had four siblings including politician Andrea Matt and was fluent in German, French, and English. Before entering political life, she married lawyer Arthur Gassner, with whom she had three children.

In 1985, Gassner graduated from the University of Innsbruck in Austria with a Doctor of Laws. She completed a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics and Political Science in England the following year.

Gassner entered politics as a member of the Progressive Citizens’ Party.

Political career

On 26 May 1993, the Progressive Citizens’ Party formed a coalition government with the Patriotic Union, led by Markus Büchel. Gassner was appointed by the Landtag, Liechtenstein's legislature, to serve as Government Councillor of Construction and Transport in Büchel's cabinet. She thereby became the first woman to hold a cabinet position, around nine years after Liechtenstein first gave women the right to vote. Her portfolio also oversaw telecommunications.

Büchel soon failed a vote of no confidence in the Landtag, and new elections were held in October 1993. Gassner was reappointed to her role under Prime Minister Mario Frick of the Patriotic Union party. The second woman to serve as a government councillor, Andrea Willi, also joined Frick's cabinet.

In May 1995, Liechtenstein joined the European Economic Area (EEA). Glassner subsequently oversaw the adoption of EEA construction regulations. In 1996, the government introduced the Telecommunications Act to regulate broadcasting in the country.

Gassner was not reappointed to Frick's second cabinet, which formed on 9 April 1997.

After politics

After leaving politics, Gassner became a practising lawyer in 1999. In October of that year, she established the partnership Gassner Treuhand- & Beratungs-Anstalt Trust & Consulting Company with fellow attorney Wolfgang Müller, which operated in Schaan. The practice specialised in commercial law, taxation, offshore incorporation, contracts, and copyright. She also worked with Wolfgang Müller at his litigation firm Müller & Partner, and served as a translator and sworn interpreter.

Gassner unsuccessfully ran in the 2009 Liechtenstein general election, again for the Progressive Citizens' Party.

Death

Gassner died on 15 December 2016 in Mauren after a long illness.

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 Clements, John (1998). Clements' Encyclopedia of World Governments. Political Research, Incorporated. p. 226.
  2. ↑ Companies House. "Cornelia Alma GASSNER". gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Liechtenstein–Vaduz". Martindale-Hubbell Corporate Law Directory 2001. Chicago: Reed Elsevier. 2001. p. 1323. ISBN 978-1561604401.
  4. ↑ OECD (2019-03-18). Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes: Liechtenstein 2019 (Second Round) Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information on Request: Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information on Request. OECD Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-92-64-54586-1.
  5. 1 2 3 Beattie, David (2004). Liechtenstein: a modern history (1. publ ed.). London: Tauris. ISBN 978-1-85043-459-7.
  6. 1 2 3 "Gassner, Cornelia". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). 21 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Matt, Andrea". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). 31 December 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Liechtenstein's choice". The Independent. 1993-12-16. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  9. 1 2 "News Digest for May 1993". Keesing's Record of World Events. Vol. 39, no. 5. June 1993. p. 39484.
  10. ↑ Mundo, Instituto del Tercer (1999). The World Guide 1999/2000.: An alternative reference to the countries of our planet. Lamuv Verlag GmbH. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-869847-68-5.
  11. ↑ Martin, Mart (2000-05-18). The Almanac Of Women And Minorities In World Politics. Avalon Publishing. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-8133-6805-4.
  12. 1 2 Whitaker's Almanack, 1997. J. Whitaker. 1996. p. 928.
  13. ↑ "Key facts about women's suffrage around the world, a century after U.S. ratified 19th Amendment". Pew Research Center. 2020-10-05. Archived from the original on 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  14. ↑ Publications, Europa (2002-11-30). Western Europe 2003. Psychology Press. p. 409. ISBN 978-1-85743-152-0.
  15. ↑ The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's who: 1999. Bowker-Saur. 1998. p. 398.
  16. ↑ "Liechtenstein celebrates 25 years of EEA membership". European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Archived from the original on 2026-07-25. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  17. ↑ Pelkmans, Jacques; Böhler, Phillip (2013). The EEA Review and Liechtenstein's Integration Strategy (PDF). Center for European Policy Studies. p. 159. ISBN 978-94-6138-287-0.
  18. ↑ Observatory, European Audiovisual (1999). Legal Guide to Audiovisual Media in Europe: Recent Legal Developments in Broadcasting, Film, Telecommunications and the Global Information Society in Europe and Neighboring States : with Chapters on European Union and Council of Europe. European Audiovisual Observatory. p. 77. ISBN 978-92-871-4161-3.
  19. ↑ Cultural Policies (August 7, 2019). "Liechtenstein 4.2.6". Compendium of Cultural Policies & Trends. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  20. ↑ Bértoa, Fernando Casal; Dumont, Patrick (2022-11-30). Party Politics in European Microstates. Taylor & Francis. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-351-79805-1.
  21. 1 2 Mosley, Charles; Zoë, Gullen (March 2006). Debrett's People of Today, Two Thousand and Six. Debrett's. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-870520-27-0.
  22. 1 2 "Firm". Gassner Treuhand. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014.
  23. ↑ Cogan, Ross (2006). Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2006, the Client's Guide. Chambers & Partners. p. 1189. ISBN 978-0-85514-365-7.
  24. ↑ "Law firm profile". Müller & Partner Rechtsanwälte (in German and English). Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  25. ↑ "Landtagswahlen 2009 - Ergebnisse". www.landtagswahlen.li (in German). Archived from the original on 20 January 2026. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  26. ↑ Redaktion (2016-12-15). "In Memoriam Cornelia Gassner, alt Regierungsrätin (1958-2016)". lie:zeit online (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2026-09-07.