François-Xavier Wurth-Paquet (16 April 1801 – 4 February 1885) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish politician,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. Born in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, he studied law in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and then became a lawyer, judge, prosecutor and in 1848 president of the Superior Court. From 1845 to 1848 he was a member of the

Assembly of Estates The Assembly of Estates (, ) was the legislature of Luxembourg from 1841 to 1848, and again from 1856 to 1868. Background and role The Congress of Vienna awarded the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the King of the Netherlands in personal union, as hi ...

. He was elected to represent the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette on the

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 ...

, in 1848. An Orangist, he served in the cabinet of

Charles-Mathias Simons Charles-''Mathias'' Simons (27 March 1802 – 5 October 1874)Thewes (2011), p. 27 was a Luxembourgish politician and jurist. He was served as prime minister of Luxembourg for seven years, from 1853 until 1860. He received his Doctorate of L ...

as Administrator-General for Justice from 1853 to 1856, and as Administrator-General for the Interior from 1856 to 1858. Thewes, Guy
"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848"
. Service information et presse du gouvernment. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. p. 21-22 He later was a member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

from 6 October 1858 to 4 February 1885, and was its

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 1870 until 1871. Wurth-Pacquet was the founding President of Luxembourg's Archaeological Association, the forerunner of the Historical Section of the

Grand Ducal Institute Grand Ducal Institute () is the national academy of Luxembourg. It is based in Luxembourg City, in the south of the country. The Institute incorporates six subsections, each dedicated to a separate field of academic research: * History (''Sectio ...

. He held that office from 1845 until 1853, when he entered government, and again from 1876 until his death in 1885. In the publications of this institution, he made inventories of old Luxembougish documents, also publishing extracts. He managed to examine 18,000 documents, and also copies of 60,000 documents from abroad. He granted this collection to the Institute after his death. He also helped established what has now become the

National Museum of History and Art The National Museum of History and Art (, , ), abbreviated to MNHA, is a museum located in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is dedicated to displaying artworks and artefacts from all epochs of Luxembourg history. The museum is situa ...

. He died in 1885 in Luxembourg City. Wurth-Pacquet's daughter was Hélène Wurth, who married into the Brasseur family. Her husband,

Pierre Brasseur Pierre Brasseur (; 22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor. Biography The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur was an actor as well. The family tradition of using the name ''Br ...

, was a mining magnate that founded the company that would later become

ARBED The Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange ( French; literally "United Steelworks of Burbach-Eich-Dudelange"), better known by its acronym ARBED, was a major Luxembourg-based steel- and iron-producing company. Created in 1911 after the merg ...

. The couple in turn had five children, including politician

Xavier Brasseur François Xavier Brasseur (19 October 1865 – 4 July 1912) was a Luxembourgish politician and jurist. Brasseur was educated at the Athénée de Luxembourg, graduating in 1884. Afterwards, he studied law, graduating on 17 June 1890, and began ...

Footnotes

, - Ministers for justice of Luxembourg Presidents of the Council of State of Luxembourg Members of the Constituent Assembly of Luxembourg Members of the Council of State of Luxembourg Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg from Esch-sur-Alzette Luxembourgian Orangists Independent politicians in Luxembourg 19th-century Luxembourgian judges 1801 births 1885 deaths Politicians from Luxembourg City 19th-century Luxembourgian historians Luxembourgian archaeologists 19th-century Luxembourgian politicians {{Luxembourg-politician-stub