Antoine Marie ''Auguste'' Laval-Metz (4 February 1843 – 29 October 1915)Mersch (1963), p. 577 was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

ish politician and industrialist. He sat in the Chamber of Deputies, of which he served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

from 1905 until 1915. Laval-Metz was first elected to the Chamber in 1878, representing

Luxembourg-Campagne Luxembourg-Campagne ( en, Luxembourg Rural, german: Luxembourg-Land) was a constituency for elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the national legislature of Luxembourg, until 1919. Until 1919, the constituencies were eleven of the twelve cantons ...

. He sat in the Chamber for 12 years until 1890. Initially, Laval was an opponent of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Paul Eyschen Paul Eyschen (9 September 1841 – 11 October 1915) was a Luxembourgish politician, statesman, lawyer, and diplomat. He was the eighth Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for twenty-seven years, from 22 September 1888 until his death, on ...

, who had been a childhood friend, but afterwards became one of Eyschen's strongest supporters. In 1890, Laval left the Chamber, before returning in 1899 for a three-year stint. In 1902, Laval became President of the Bar (french: bâtonnier).Mersch (1963), p. 577 He once again resumed his legislative position in a by-election in 1904, and remained until his death. He was elected President of the Chamber in 1905. His first act was to head the Chamber's deputation to Schloss Hohenburg for the funeral of

Grand Duke Adolphe Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...

.Mersch (1963), p. 578 Main issues during his tenure as President of the Chamber were of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

and the creation of schools for girls. On the latter cause in particular, Laval was very involved, and was one of the architects of the creation of girls' schools in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...

, Diekirch,

Echternach Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...

, and

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

. Laval died office in

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

, on 29 October 1915, having gone to Switzerland to recover from his illness the previous November. Laval married Marie-Albertine-Petronille-Therese Metz, daughter of

Auguste Metz Jean-Antoine Auguste Metz (8 August 1812 – 22 June 1854) was a Luxembourgian entrepreneur, politician, and lawyer. He was a major player in the growing steel industry in Luxembourg during the nineteenth century, as well as a leading liberal memb ...

of the politically influential

Metz family The Metz family is a family in Luxembourg that was prominent in politics and industry in the mid- and late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The head of the household was Jean Metz, who had nine children. This second generation inclu ...

.Mersch (1963), p. 428

Decorations

* Belgium: Order of the Crown (Grand Cordon) * Luxembourg: **

Order of Adolphe of Nassau The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau (french: Ordre de Mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau) is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House ...

(Commander) **

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne de chêne, german: Eichenlaubkronenorden, lb, Eechelaafkrounenuerden) is an order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by Gran ...

(Grand Officer)

Footnotes

References

* Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Liberal League (Luxembourg) politicians Luxembourgian jurists Luxembourgian businesspeople Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Metz family 1843 births 1915 deaths People from Luxembourg City {{Luxembourg-politician-stub