french: Chambre des Députés
german: Abgeordnetenkammer
, coa_pic =
![Logo of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Logo_of_the_Chamber_of_Deputies_of_Luxembourg.svg)
, coa_res =
, foundation =
, session_room = Joint meeting with the Members of the Standing Committee, the Members of the Luxembourg delegation to the OSCE PA and the Members of the Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Cooperation, Immigration and Asylum, 25 March 2019 -1.jpg
, house_type = Unicameral
, houses =
, leader1_type =
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 ful ...
, leader1 =
Fernand Etgen
Fernand Etgen (born 10 March 1957) is a Luxembourg politician of the Democratic Party (DP) who has been President of the Chamber of Deputies since 2018.
Biography Studies and formation
Etgen completed his secondary school studies at the Lycée ...
(
DP)
, leader2_type = Deputy Presidents
, leader2 =
Mars Di Bartolomeo (
LSAP
The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party ( lb, Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei, french: Parti ouvrier socialiste luxembourgeois, german: Luxemburger Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei), abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social-democratic, p ...
)
Marc Spautz
Marc Spautz (born 10 April 1963, in Esch-sur-Alzette) is a Luxembourgian politician. He is a member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), sitting in the national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, and the communal council of Schifflang ...
(
CSV)
Djuna Bernard
Djuna Bernard (born 15 June 1992) is a Luxembourgers, Luxembourger politician and member of the The Greens (Luxembourg), Luxembourg's Green Party, Déi Gréng. She has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg), Chamber of Deputies sinc ...
(
Déi Gréng)
, members = 60
, structure1 = File:D'Chamber 2018.svg
, structure1_res = 280px
, political_groups1 =
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
(31)
*
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(12)
*
*
The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to:
Current political parties
* Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens''
* Greens of Andorra
* Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Greens of Burkina
* Greens (Greece)
* Greens of Montenegro
*Greens of Serbia
*G ...
(9)
Opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
(29)
*
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 ...
(21)
*
Alternative Democratic Reform Party
The Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR; lb, Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei, french: Parti réformiste d'alternative démocratique, german: Alternative Demokratische Reformpartei) is a conservative and mildly populist political party ...
(4)
*
Pirate Party
Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...
(2)
*
The Left (2)
, voting_system1 =
Open list
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, par ...
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, allocated by the
D'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
in
four constituencies
, last_election1 =
14 October 2018
, next_election2 =
8 October 2023
, meeting_place =
Hôtel de la Chambre,
Krautmaart
Krautmaart (Luxembourgish) or rue du Marché aux Herbes (French), is an irregularly-shaped street in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The street, whose name translates into English as Herb Market street, is situated in Ville Haute, the his ...
,
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 Lu ...
, website =
The Chamber of Deputies ( lb, D'Chamber, french: Chambre des Députés, german: Abgeordnetenkammer), abbreviated to the Chamber, is the
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
national
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
of
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 ...
. ''Krautmaart'' (French: ''Marché aux herbes'', English: "Herb Market") is sometimes used as a
metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
for the Chamber, after the
square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
on which the
Hôtel de la Chambre (Luxembourgish: ''Chambergebai'', English: "Hall of the Chamber of Deputies") is located.
The Chamber is made up of 60 seats. Deputies are elected to serve five-year terms by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
in
four multi-seat constituencies. Voters may vote for as many candidates as the constituency elects deputies.
History
1800s
The constitution of 1841 created the
Assembly of Estates (''Assemblée des États''), consisting of 34 members. Under the absolute monarchy of
William II,
King of the Netherlands
King of The Netherlands (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Koning der Nederlanden'') is the title of the Dutch head of state. The king serves as the Head of state, head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes the constituent nations of ...
and
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg ( lb, Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg, french: Grand-duc de Luxembourg, german: Großherzog von Luxemburg) is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it w ...
, the legislature's powers were very restricted: it could not take decisions and had a purely advisory role with respect to the monarch. Its consent was necessary in very few matters. Only the sovereign could propose laws. The assembly was only in session 15 days a year, and these sessions were held in secret.
In a climate marked by the democratic revolutionary movements in France and elsewhere, a new constitution was drafted in 1848 by a
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
. This introduced a constitutional monarchy: the King-Grand Duke only retained those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution. The parliament, now called the ''Chambre des Députés'', had the legislative power: it had the right to propose and amend laws. It would decide the budget, and received the power to investigate. The government became accountable to the Chamber. In addition, its sessions were now public.
In 1853,
William III called on the government to write a new constitution to limit the powers of the Chamber. The latter refused to approve the government's revisions, and the Grand Duke dissolved the legislature. There was then a brief return to absolutist monarchy, in what became known as the
Putsch of 1856. The parliament, now renamed the ''Assemblée des Etats'', retained its legislative powers, but the Grand Duke was no longer required to approve and promulgate its laws within a certain period. Taxes no longer had to be voted on annually, and the permanent budget was re-introduced. The Council of State was created in 1856 as a check on the Chamber. Its role was to render opinions on proposed bills and regulations.
After Luxembourg's neutrality and independence had been affirmed in the
Second Treaty of London, in 1868, the constitution was revised to obtain a compromise between the liberties of 1848 and the authoritarian charter of 1856. The parliament was renamed the ''Chambre des Députés'' and regained most of the rights it lost in 1856, such as the annual vote on the budget and taxes. However, the King Grand-Duke still kept wide-ranging powers: he exercised executive power, and wielded legislative power alongside the Chamber.
World Wars
The constitutional changes of 1919 brought in universal suffrage and affirmed the principle of national sovereignty. These steps on a pathway of democratisation took place in a period of crisis of the monarchy, famine, and difficulties in supplying food.
Grand Duchess Charlotte remained the head of state, and the co-wielder of legislative power.
Most elections between
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
and
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
were ''partial elections''. The four constituencies were paired up,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
with
Centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
and
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
with
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
, and elections were
staggered so that only deputies from one pair of constituencies were up for election at any given time.
During World War II, from 1940 to 1944 under German occupation of Luxembourg, the Chamber was dissolved by the Nazis and the country annexed into the "
Gau Moselland
The Gau Moselland, formed as Gau Koblenz-Trier in June 1931, was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 in the Prussian Rhine Province. Before that, from 1931 to 1933, it was the regional subdivision of the Nazi Party in tha ...
". The Grand Ducal family and the Luxembourgish government went into exile, first in the United Kingdom, and later in Canada and the United States.
The first post-war session was opened on 6 December 1944 and was limited to one public sitting, as there was no quorum. A consultative assembly sat from March to August 1945, and new elections were held in October 1945. The post-war Chamber proceeded to revise the constitution again, which abolished the country's state of neutrality.
Since 1945
1965 saw the introduction of parliamentary commissions. The establishment of specialised and permanent commissions would facilitate the work of the legislature. The previous organisation of the Chamber into sections, un-specialised and with members chosen at random, had not been effective. Another innovation concerned political groups. They were now officially recognised, and received premises, and subsidies based on their proportion of seat. These material means were dwarfed by those established in 1990.
Changes to the Chamber's rules in 1990 and 1991 substantially increased the material means available to political groups, and contributed to a professionalisation of politics. In addition, every Deputy had the right to an office close to the Chamber building. The Chamber reimbursed the Deputies' staff expenses. Funds were now also available to "technical groups", following the protests of the small parties at the start of the new session in 1989.
In 2003, a new law established the office of the mediator and ombudsman. This was attached to the Chamber, but would not receive instructions from any authority in exercising his or her functions. They would deal with citizens' complaints concerning the central or local government administration, and other public entities. They would attempt to resolve disputes between parties, acting as a mediator. Every year, they would present a report to the Chamber.
Since January 2008, the political parties have been directly funded by the state. Their accounts were to be strictly separate from those of the parliamentary political groups. There were to be two different structures, each with their own staff. In order to receive public funds, a party must provide evidence of regular political activity, present complete lists of candidates at the legislative and European elections, and have received at least 2% of the vote.
Functions
The function of the Chamber of Deputies is covered under Chapter IV of the
Constitution of Luxembourg
The Constitution of Luxembourg (french: Constitution du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg) is the supreme law of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The modern constitution was adopted on 17 October 1868.
Whilst the constitution of 1868 marked a radical c ...
, the first article of which states that the purpose of the Chamber is to
represent
Represent may refer to:
* ''Represent'' (Compton's Most Wanted album) or the title song, 2000
* ''Represent'' (Fat Joe album), 1993
* ''Represent'', an album by DJ Magic Mike, 1994
* "Represent" (song), by Nas, 1994
* "Represent", a song by the ...
the country. Luxembourg is a
parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
, in which the Chamber is elected by
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
under the
d'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
of
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
.
All laws must be passed by the Chamber. Each bill must be submitted to two votes in the Chamber, with an interval of at least three months between the votes, for it to become law. Laws are passed by
absolute majority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
, provided that a
quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
of half of the deputies is present.
Composition
The Chamber is composed of sixty members, called
Deputies
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...
(Luxembourgish: ''Deputéiert'' ; French: ''Députés''). They each represent one of
four constituencies, which are each a combination of at least two
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
. Each constituency elects a number of deputies proportionate to its population, with the largest electing 23 and the smallest electing 7.
Elections
Electoral system
Deputies are elected by
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
every five years, with the
last election having been held on 14 October 2018. Deputies are elected by
open list
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, which allows only active members, par ...
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, whereby all electors may vote for as many candidates as their constituency has seats. Each party is allocated a number of seats in proportion to the total number of votes cast for its candidates in that constituency. These seats are then allocated to that party's candidates in descending order of votes that each candidate received.
Latest election
Hôtel de la Chambre
The Chamber of Deputies holds session in the
Hôtel de la Chambre (Luxembourgish: ''Chambergebai'', English: Hall of the Chamber of Deputies), located on
Krautmaart
Krautmaart (Luxembourgish) or rue du Marché aux Herbes (French), is an irregularly-shaped street in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The street, whose name translates into English as Herb Market street, is situated in Ville Haute, the his ...
(French: ''Marché aux herbes'', English: Herb Market), in the
Uewerstad quarter (French:
Ville Haute
Ville Haute ( lb, Uewerstad, german: Oberstadt) is a quarter in central Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is the historic center of Luxembourg City and is involved in its UNESCO World Heritage Site status. , Ville Haute has a populatio ...
, English: Upper City), the oldest part of
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 Lu ...
. It was originally built between 1858 and 1860 as an annex to the
Grand Ducal Palace
The Grand Ducal Palace ( lb, Groussherzogleche Palais, french: Palais grand-ducal, german: Großherzogliches Palais) is a palace in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is the official residence of the grand duke of Luxembourg, and wher ...
, which had, until then, been used as one of many venues for the Chamber's convocations.
The building was designed by
Antoine Hartmann
Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin.
The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...
in a unified
historicist
Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
style, combining elements of
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
,
neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
, and
neo-classical architectural styles.
The Grand Ducal Palace, by contrast, was built over time in several architectural styles (primarily
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
and
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
), but renovated in 1891 in a historicist neo-Renaissance manner.
Current composition
Government parties are denoted with the letter G, with the Democratic Party holding the office of Prime Minister (Xavier Bettel). ''O'' stands for opposition.
Members
*
*
List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg 2009–13
*
List of members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg 2013–18
See also
*
List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg
Footnotes
References
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
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 ...
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 ...