LIECHTENSTEIN, ALOIS von. – Opponent of liberalism, leader of the Catholic social movement in Austria, b. 18 November 1846 in Praga, d. 25 March 1920 in Vienna. A diplomat in London and Berlin, after 1873 he devoted himself entirely to the struggle against liberalism, becoming a pioneer of social reform, an advocate of new legislation according to the social directives of Leone XIII, and a staunch defender of confessional schooling.
From 1878 to 1889 he was a member of Parliament for the popular party of conservative Catholics; in 1889 he resigned as leader of the parliamentary bloc of conservatives and began working with Lueger and the Christian Social Party, transforming it into a determined supporter of Catholic ideas in Austria. A celebrated author and brilliant organizer, popular with the people, “the red prince,” as the liberals called him, he could not enjoy the confidence of the court until he had demonstrated his loyalty to the idea of the monarchy. In 1907 he succeeded in uniting the Christian Socials and the conservative Catholics in Parliament, and in 1910 he succeeded Lueger as president of the party, a position he held until 1918. He was one of the greatest and most disinterested pioneers of the Catholic social idea in Austria.