The National Union Government was a form of national government that governed the

Grand Duchy 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 land ...

between 1945 and 13 February 1947, in the direct aftermath of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the war, Luxembourg was invaded, occupied, and annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Just one of the Luxembourgish casualties of the conflict was the pre-war political system; most of the established parties and alliances disappeared, and some of the leading politicians had lost their lives.

Background

After the liberation of the Grand Duchy in 1944, a temporary government comprising the CSV and the

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 ...

, dubbed the '' ' Liberation Government' '', took office. No election had been held and no Chamber of Deputies was in place, so there was no need for this government to seek a broad-based legislative coalition.Thewes (2003), p. 117 However, after the war was concluded, Luxembourg returned to political functionality.

Legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

were held on 21 October 1945, and all four parties won over 5 seats and 10% of the vote each: the CSV, LSAP, GD, and KPL. However, the CSV came just short of an absolute majority, winning 25 seats out of 51.Thewes (2003), p. 123

Forming the government

Atypically,

Grand Duchess Charlotte Charlotte (Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) reigned as List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. She acceded to th ...

decided to intervene in the political sphere, and asked CSV leader

Pierre Dupong Pierre Dupong (1 November 1885 – 23 December 1953)Thewes, Guy"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché depuis 1848." Service information et presse. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. was a Luxembourgish politician and statesman. He was the 16th ...

(who had been Prime Minister since 1937) to form a broader based coalition than Dupong had organised behind his Liberation Government. On 14 November, Dupong invited all four parties in the Chamber of Deputies to unite in his National Union Government. Dupong also included the only independent candidate in the cabinet. As a result, all 51 Deputies were taking the government

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. The new government had much work to do, and, with no opposition in the legislature, was capable of instituting any plan, provided that the parties could agree policy between themselves. The departmental briefs were handed to cabinet members based upon personal preference. The composition of the first cabinet was:

Governing the country

With each member virtually free to decide departmental policy by himself, each took it upon himself to push forward his own pet projects. The CSV pushed for the annexation of those Luxembourgish territories lost to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

.Thewes (2003), p. 124 The LSAP ordered the

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of the railways. The KPL sought to create a

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

. This system of reign by ministerial diktat was not without its draw-backs. The arrangement distanced the government from the population, which was forced to accept the patchwork of policies, even though over 40% of Luxembourgers had cast their vote for the CSV. Dupong had been revered as the leader of Luxembourg's

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...

, but his government was fomenting resentment. On 2 August 1946, four officers were arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. Although they were released without charge, it sent a clear message to the government.Thewes (2003), p. 126 Moreover, ideological differences were forcing the government partners apart. The cabinet divided along ideological lines in exactly the manner that the National Union Government was supposed to prevent. Dupong took exception to the LSAP's plans for the railways, whilst the KPL and LSAP attempted to distance themselves from the CSV's

irredentism Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...

. Charles Marx died on 13 June 1946 and was replaced by fellow Communist Party member Dominique Urbany eight days later. In addition, on 29 August, the cabinet was reshuffled, with the independent

Guillaume Konsbruck Guillaume Konsbruck (3 September 1909 – 3 October 1983) was a Luxembourgish military officer, politician, and manager of the steel company Arbed. Early life Guillame Konsbruck was born on 3 September 1909. He studied at the cavalry branch of ...

replaced by

Lambert Schaus Lambert Schaus (18 January 1908 – 10 August 1976) was a Luxembourg politician, jurist, and diplomat. He held office as a government minister and European Commissioner. Schaus was born in Luxembourg City to a jeweller. He studied jurispruden ...

, a CSV member. From that date, the cabinet was:

Gomand trial

The Resistance-affiliated newspaper ''L'Indépendant'', edited by Norbert Gomand, had been one of the sharpest critics of the government-in-exile. Finally, the government took the newspaper to court for defamation, in a trial starting in early 1946.

Collapse

The reshuffle, in favour of the CSV, appeased the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

dissidents and the two-fifths of the population that had voted the CSV. However, it could not even paper over the cracks of the coalition, and the relationship deteriorated over the winter of 1946-7. On 20 January 1947,

Pierre Krier Pierre Krier (5 March 1885 – 20 January 1947) was a Luxembourgian politician. In 1916 he joined the weekly newspaper of the socialist party, ''Die Schmiede'' (''The Forge''). In September 1916 he helped found the first socialist trade union, ...

, the leader of the LSAP, died. Unable to hold together the coalition without one of its leading lights, the government handed in its resignation on 13 February. Its replacement was another Dupong-led coalition, but including only the CSV and GD. The LSAP would have to wait until 1951 to have another chance at governing. As of 2021, the Communists are still waiting.

Footnotes

References

* {{Luxembourg ministries History of Luxembourg (1945–present) Ministries of Luxembourg 20th century in Luxembourg Coalition governments 1945 establishments in Luxembourg 1947 disestablishments in Luxembourg Cabinets established in 1945 Cabinets disestablished in 1947 1940s in Luxembourg 1945 in Luxembourg 1946 in Luxembourg 1947 in Luxembourg