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Biographical Information
Dr. Ernst Joseph Walch, born in 1956, has been a member of the Principality
of Liechtenstein's government as Minister of Foreign Affairs since April
2001. He studied law in Innsbruck, where he earned his doctorate in 1980,
and at the New York University School of Law, Graduate Division, Institute
of Comparative Law, where he received his Master of Comparative Jurisprudence
in 1981. He was admitted to the Bar in the United States in 1983 and in
the Principality of Liechtenstein in 1984.
As a representative of the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), he was a member
of the Liechtenstein Parliament from 1989 to 1996. From 1992 to 1993, he
acted as FBP party spokesman in the Parliament; in 1993, he was Parliamentary
president. From 1983 to 1993, Dr. Walch represented the Progressive Citizens'
Party as member of the Steering Committee of the European Democratic Union.
Minister Walch belongs to various professional organizations, including
the New York State Bar Association, the Liechtenstein Law Society and the
German-Austrian-Swiss Registered Association of Lawyers (DACH). He is also
a certified interpreter and translator for English and German. Dr. Walch
has authored numerous publications on international legal issues, notably
international commercial law.