Lambert Joseph Emmanuel Servais (11 April 1811 – 17 June 1890) 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 ...

politician. He held numerous offices of national importance, foremost amongst which was in serving as the fifth

Prime Minister of Luxembourg german: Premierminister von Luxemburg , insignia = Lesser CoA luxembourg.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Lesser coat of arms of Luxembourg , insigniaalt = , flag ...

, for seven years, from 3 December 1867 until 26 December 1874. After being Prime Minister, he was a long-serving Mayor of Luxembourg City, holding office from soon after his departure from the premiership, in 1875, until his death, in 1890. Servais was also successively

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 ...

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 o ...

(1874–1887) and

of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

(1887–1890). No other person has held even three of these four positions.

Education

Servais was educated at the Athénée de Luxembourg, where he excelled academically, finishing top of his class in both of his final years at the school.Mersch (1972), p. 473 After leaving the Athénée, in 1828, he studied law at the University of Ghent. However, he was forced to leave in after one year, in 1830, by the upheaval caused by the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

. Instead, he left for

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, graduating in 1831.

Political career

Before Partition

From 8 September 1836 until the Third Partition, in 1839, Servais represented his home

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

Mersch Mersch ( ) is a commune and town in central Luxembourg, capital of the canton of Mersch. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Alzette, Mamer and Eisch. , the town of Mersch, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population ...

in Luxembourg's provincial council. In the same year, he established, with

Victor Tesch Victor Jean-Baptiste Tesch (12 March 1812 – 16 June 1892)Gardini, Fausto Luxembourgensia.blogspot.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved on 30 October 2013. was a Luxembourgish and Belgian jurist, industrialist, journalist and liberal politician. He was born in ...

, ''L'Echo du Luxembourg'', which published its first edition on 21 December 1836.Mersch (1972), p. 474 Servais used the paper to promote his political interests, particularly improving transport links, an example of which was the construction of a permanent roadway between

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( lb, Ettelbréck , german: Ettelbrück ) is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both ...

and

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastog ...

. Servais was amongst a group that, on 5 May 1838, founded the 'Central Patriotic Society of Luxembourg', which opposed the First Treaty of London.Mersch (1972), p. 475 The Treaty awarded two-thirds of the grand duchy to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, separating Mersch from Arlon and Bastogne, and hence dividing in two Servais's backyard and the ''Echo's'' core constituency. However, Servais' efforts were in vain, as the Treaty was accepted by both the Chamber of Representatives and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Servais remained in the (diminished) grand duchy, being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in August 1839.

Member of State

Upon Partition and the dissolution of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

, the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

was amended to allow for self-government. On 3 August 1841, Servais was named one of nine representatives of Luxembourg that convened in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

to advise the

King-Grand Duke The designation of King-Grand Duke was held by the three monarchs of the House of Orange-Nassau that ruled Luxembourg and the Netherlands in personal union, between 1815 and 1890. These monarchs thus held the titles of King of the Netherlands and G ...

on its formulation.Mersch (1972), p. 477 For his work on doing so, he was awarded the rank of Commander in the

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 Grand ...

.Mersch (1972), p. 479 Under the new arrangement, power passed to the Assembly of State, which held its first session in 1842. Once again, Servais represented Mersch, along with

Théodore Pescatore Théodore Pescatore (6 February 1802 – 23 August 1878) was a Luxembourgian politician. One of the most important liberals in the mid-19th century,Mersch (1949), p. 506 he was president of the Constituent Assembly that wrote Luxembourg's Constit ...

and Claude Clément. In sitting on the Assembly, he was notable for being a relatively extreme and revolutionary liberal. Servais was prominent in advocating budgetary restraint, and led the (unsuccessful) campaign to reduce the

civil list A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...

by one-third. His other main issue was education. Primary education was regulated by the state for the first time in 1843, and the scope of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in instruction was anathema to the radical Servais. Similarly, when the issue of secondary education was discussed, Servais argued that the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...

and

Organic Articles The Organic Articles (French: ''"Les Articles Organiques"'') was a law administering public worship in France. History The Articles were originally presented by Napoléon Bonaparte, and consisted of 77 Articles relating to Catholicism and 44 ...

were annulled by the

Belgian Constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...

of 1831, and so the Luxembourgian government was under no obligation to the Catholic Church.

Personal life

Servais married his cousin, Anne Justine Elisa Boch (1819–1860) on 16 November 1841. Through the Bochs, and Anne's mother's family (the Richards), Servais was marrying into a political web that also included the Thilges, Pescatore, Northomb, d'Huart, and de Prémorel families. His son, Émile, would go on to lead a failed

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

revolt on 9 January 1919.

Decorations

Servais's honours and decorations included:Mersch (1972), p. 587 * Belgium: Order of Leopold (Grand Cross, 1869) * France:

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

(Commander, 1868) * Luxembourg:

(Grand Cross, 1867) * Netherlands:

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

(Grand Cross, 1855) * Prussia:

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

(Knight 2nd Class with Star, 1865)

Footnotes

References

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Servais, Emmanuel Ministers for Finances of Luxembourg Prime Ministers of Luxembourg Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Mayors of Luxembourg City Members of the Constituent Assembly of Luxembourg Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg from Mersch Members of the Council of State of Luxembourg Presidents of the Council of State of Luxembourg Luxembourgian jurists 1811 births 1890 deaths People from Mersch Members of the Frankfurt Parliament Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century Luxembourgian politicians