Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Luxembourg) explained

Agency Name:Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Type:Ministry
Nativename:Ministère des Affaires Étrangères et Europeennes
Picture Width:240
Picture Caption:The Mansfeld Building, since 2017 headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
Formed: (as part of the Prime Minister’s Office)
Jurisdiction:Government of Luxembourg
Headquarters:The Mansfeld Building, 9 Rue du Palais de Justice, 1841 Ville-Haute Luxembourg
Minister Type:Cabinet Minister
Minister1 Name:The Rt Hon. Xavier Bettel
Minister1 Pfo:Deputy Prime Minister

Deputyminister Type:Minister attending Cabinet
Deputyminister1 Name:The Rt Hon. Yuriko Backes
Deputyminister1 Pfo:Minister of Defence
Child1 Agency:General Secretariat
Child2 Agency:Directorate of Political Affairs
Child3 Agency:Directorate of European Affairs and International Economic Relations
Child4 Agency:Directorate of Protocol and Chancellery
Child5 Agency:Directorate of Finance and Human Resources
Child6 Agency:The Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs
Child7 Agency:Directorate of Consular Affairs and International Cultural Relations
Child8 Agency:Directorate of Defence

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (lb|Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes, de la Défense, de la Coopération et du Commerce extérieur, MAE), commonly referred to as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a ministry of the government of Luxembourg, which comprises a general secretariat and eight directorates. The ministry is headquartered in the Bâtiment Mansfeld in Luxembourg City.[1]

The office of Minister of Foreign Affairs is customarily given to a member of the junior party in a coalition, and usually coincides with that of Deputy Prime Minister. For instance, LSAP politicians Jacques Poos and Jean Asselborn served a combined 34 years as Minister of Foreign Affairs in CSV and DP-led governments, 24 of which as Deputy Prime Minister.

Beginning

The position of Minister for Foreign Affairs has been in continuous existence since the promulgation of Luxembourg's first constitution, in 1848. Until 1937, the position was held concurrently by the Prime Minister,[2] thus ridding it of any true significance as an office. However, in 1937, Joseph Bech resigned as Prime Minister, but was immediately reappointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs upon Pierre Dupong's premiership. When Bech became Prime Minister again, in 1953, the two jobs were united once more.[3] Over the next twenty-six years, the jobs were separated and united another two times. However, since 1979, the two positions have been kept in separate hands.

Several times since World War II, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has also been the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the smaller party in a coalition government; this has especially been the case since the 1980s.

Since 24 March 1936, the title of Minister for Foreign Affairs has been an official one, although the position had been unofficially known by that name since its creation. From the position's creation until 28 November 1857, the Minister went by the title of Administrator-General.[4] From 1857 until 1936, the Minister went by the title of Director-General.[5]

Organisation

As of 2017, the Ministry consists of a general secretariat and 8 Directorates:[6]

List of ministers

MinisterPartyStart dateEnd dateOther postsPrime Minister
Gaspard-Théodore-Ignace de la FontaineNone1 August 18482 December 1848Himself
Jean-Jacques WillmarNone2 December 184823 September 1853Himself
Charles-Mathias SimonsNone23 September 185326 September 1860Himself
Baron de TornacoNone26 September 18603 December 1867Himself
Emmanuel ServaisNone3 December 186726 December 1874Himself
Baron de BlochausenNone26 December 187420 February 1885Himself
Édouard ThilgesNone20 February 188522 September 1888Himself
Paul EyschenNone22 September 188811 October 1915Himself
Mathias MongenastNone12 October 19156 November 1915Himself
Hubert LoutschNone6 November 191524 February 1916Himself
Victor ThornNone24 February 191619 June 1917Himself
Léon KauffmanPD19 June 191728 September 1918Himself
Émile ReuterPD28 September 191820 March 1925Himself
Pierre PrümPNI20 March 192516 July 1926Himself
Joseph BechPD16 July 19265 November 1937Himself
5 November 193723 November 1944Pierre Dupong
CSV23 November 194429 December 1953
29 December 195329 March 1958Himself
29 March 19582 March 1959Pierre Frieden
Eugène SchausDP2 March 195915 July 1964Deputy Prime MinisterPierre Werner
Pierre WernerCSV15 July 19643 January 1967
Pierre GrégoireCSV3 January 19676 February 1969
Gaston ThornDP6 February 196915 June 1974
15 June 197416 July 1979Himself
16 July 197922 November 1980Deputy Prime MinisterPierre Werner
Colette FleschDP22 November 198020 July 1984Deputy Prime Minister
Jacques PoosLSAP20 July 198426 January 1995Deputy Prime MinisterJacques Santer
26 January 19957 August 1999Deputy Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker
Lydie PolferDP7 August 199920 July 2004Deputy Prime Minister
Charles GoerensDP20 July 200431 July 2004
Jean AsselbornLSAP31 July 20044 December 2013Deputy Prime Minister
4 December 201317 November 2023Xavier Bettel
Xavier BettelDP17 November 2023IncumbentDeputy Prime MinisterLuc Frieden

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. "Contact." Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved on 27 August 2017.
  2. Thewes (2003), p. 104
  3. Thewes (2011), p. 141
  4. Web site: Mémorial A, 1857, No. 49 . 2006-08-29 . PDF . Service central de législation . https://web.archive.org/web/20120415135907/http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/archives/1857/0049/a049.pdf#page=4 . 2012-04-15 . dead .
  5. Web site: Mémorial A, 1936, No. 25 . 2006-08-29 . PDF . Service central de législation . https://web.archive.org/web/20120415135918/http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/archives/1936/0025/a025.pdf#page=1 . 2012-04-15 . dead .
  6. Web site: Organigramme - gouvernement.lu // L'actualité du gouvernement du Luxembourg. www.gouvernement.lu. fr. 2017-11-02.