Renée Wagener (born 1962) is a journalist, sociologist, historian, and former politician in Luxembourg. She served for 10 years in the country's Chamber of Deputies as a member of

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 *Gree ...

Early life and education

Renée Wagener was born in 1962 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 ...

, the capital of Luxembourg. Beginning in 1997, she pursued an advanced degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

, taking correspondence courses at the

University of Hagen The University of Hagen (german: link=no, FernUniversität in Hagen, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North R ...

in Germany. She wrote her master's thesis on "The History of Women's Right to Vote in Luxembourg" and her doctoral thesis on "The Jewish Community in Luxembourg, Between Recognition and Exclusion."

Career

Journalism and academia

Wagener works as a journalist for the weekly newspaper '' Woxx'', as well as for various media outlets as a freelance writer and announcer. She has also worked on historical research at the

University of Luxembourg The University of Luxembourg (French: ''Université du Luxembourg''; German: ''Universität Luxemburg''; Luxembourgish: ''Universitéit Lëtzebuerg'') is a public research university in Luxembourg. History The University of Luxembourg was found ...

. She writes primarily on feminist topics, as well as sociology and history. In 1997, she co-edited the history of women's rights in Luxembourg ''"Wenn nun wir Frauen auch das Wort ergreifen…": Frauen in Luxemburg 1880-1950''. She published a biography of the politician Lydie Schmit, ''"Méi Sozialismus!" Lydie Schmit und die LSAP 1970-1988'', in 2013. In 2019, to mark 100 years of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in Luxembourg, she co-curated an exhibit at the National Museum of History and Art about the history of voting rights in the country. In November 2019, after a meeting of the

Council of Government of Luxembourg The Council of Government of Luxembourg consists of the Prime Minister and a number of ministers. It was created by Grand Ducal decree on 29 August 1846, as the administrator of the country: "The Council of Government administers the country , whil ...

, she was appointed to the board of directors of the public radio station

radio 100,7 radio 100,7 is a public service radio station in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Broadcasting in the Luxembourgish language, the station's principal focus is on culture and information, although entertainment – in the form of a relatively wi ...

Politics

Wagener was a founding member of the Green Alternative Party, a precursor to the

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

party The Greens, in 1983. She served on the

Luxembourg communal council Luxembourg communal council (french: Conseil communal de Luxembourg) is the local council for the commune of Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It consists of twenty-seven members, elected every six years by proportional representation. C ...

from 1991 to 1994. In the 1994 Luxembourg general election, she was elected to the country's Chamber of Deputies, where she represented the Centre constituency as a member of The Greens. In May 1996, she introduced one of the country's earliest bills to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, nearly two decades before the Chamber would go on to pass such a measure. She was reelected to the Chamber of Deputies in the

1999 Luxembourg general election General elections were held in Luxembourg on 13 June 1999,Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1244 alongside European Parliament elections. The Christian Social People's Party remained the largest par ...

, but declined to run again in 2004, stepping down after the election that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagener, Renee 1962 births People from Luxembourg City Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) from Centre Councillors in Luxembourg City The Greens (Luxembourg) politicians Luxembourgian women writers Luxembourgian women journalists Luxembourgian feminists Academics of the University of Luxembourg 20th-century Luxembourgian historians University of Hagen alumni Living people 21st-century Luxembourgian women politicians 21st-century Luxembourgian politicians 21st-century Luxembourgian historians