Émile Colling (12 April 1899 – 16 September 1981) was a

Luxembourgian Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

medical doctor and politician.

Life

Colling was born in

Clervaux Clervaux (; lb, Clierf or (locally) ; german: Clerf) is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux. The town's arms, granted in 1896, show three blackbirds on a gold ground in the chief of a red ...

, as the youngest of 6 children. After attending the Athénée de Luxembourg, he studied medicine in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, Nancy, Freiburg, and Cologne. In 1925, he settled in Esch-sur-Alzette as a doctor. In 1945 he was made the first director of public health. In the same year, he became manager of the spa in

Mondorf Mondorf-les-Bains ( ; ) is a commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Remich. Mondorf-les-Bains is a spa town (hence its name), and has the only casino in Luxembourg. , the commune of Mondorf-les-Bains (other tow ...

and a member of the Consultative Assembly. Politically, he was aligned with the newly founded conservative

Christian Social People's Party The Christian Social People's Party ( lb, Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei, french: Parti populaire chrétien-social, german: Christlich Soziale Volkspartei), abbreviated to CSV or PCS, is the largest political party in Luxembourg. The party f ...

. In 1945, he was elected to the city council of Esch, and also to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

for the South district. He was re-elected as a Deputy in 1948 and 1954. In 1954 he became Minister for Agriculture and Public Health in the

Bech-Bodson Ministry The Bech-Bodson Ministry was the government of Luxembourg between 29 December 1953 and 29 March 1958. It was a coalition between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). Formation The CSV w ...

. He remained in this post from 1958 to 1959 in the

Frieden Ministry The Frieden Government was the government of Luxembourg between 29 March 1958 and 23 February 1959 until the death of Pierre Frieden. It was a coalition between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party ...

. Then he became Minister for Labour and Social Security in Pierre Werner's government, until 1964, and thereafter the Minister for Agriculture, Wine-growing, Families, Population and Social Security. In 1967 he became the Luxembourgish ambassador to the Holy See, which he remained until 1974. He had five children, including François Colling.

Publications

*''Den Dokter vun der Grenz. E Stéck Escher Chronik vum Emil Colling'', 1899 - 1981. (2005). *''De Fuuss am Krich. Eng lëschteg Reimerei iwwer eng eescht Geschicht'' (1978). 1899 births 1981 deaths People from Clervaux Luxembourgian politicians Luxembourgian public health doctors Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg Ministers for Agriculture of Luxembourg People from Esch-sur-Alzette {{Luxembourg-politician-stub