Erna Hennicot-Schoepges (born 24 July 1941 in

Dudelange Dudelange (; lb, Diddeleng , german: Düdelingen) is a commune with town status in southern Luxembourg. It is the fourth-most populous commune, with 19,734 inhabitants. Dudelange is situated close to the border with France. , the town of Dudela ...

) is 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 ...

ish politician for the Christian Social People's Party. She was until 2009 a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

, sitting as a CSV member of the European People's Party. Erna Hennicot-Schoepges has an extensive history in cultural affairs. She was educated in Musical studies, for which she was awarded the gold medal as a pianist, as well as philosophy and literature at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Ecole Normale in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, and the Centre Universitaire in

. Her political career reflects this deep interest in culture as well as her commitment to civil affairs. The Hennicot-Schoepges was elected Mayor of

Walferdange Walferdange ( lb, Walfer ; german: Walferdingen) is a commune and small town in central Luxembourg. Geography The commune of Walferdange is located north of Luxembourg City in the valley of the Alzette. It is part of the canton Luxembourg. The ...

and then moved on to become the first woman President of Luxembourg’s Parliament followed by her appointment as Luxembourg’s Minister of Culture, Higher Education and Research and Public Works. Throughout this time, she was also highly engaged as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. Hennicot-Schoepges has made many political contributions to the cultural field. On the national level, she is responsible for the creation of 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 ...

in 2003 and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall Joséphine Charlotte in 2005, among other projects. On a European level, she was the rapporteur to the EP of the “ European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, 2008.” She is also a member of the Jury for the European Capitals of Culture and a member of the Council of State in Luxembourg. Additionally, she has written a number of books and articles on subjects ranging from European politics, human rights, religion, and education.

References

External links

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Article
re. Ms. Hennicot-Schoepges' promotion of the Letzebuergesch language beyond

's borders , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hennicot-Schoepges, Erna 1941 births Living people People from Dudelange Ministers for Public Works of Luxembourg MEPs for Luxembourg 2004–2009 Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) from Centre Councillors in Walferdange Christian Social People's Party politicians Luxembourgian educators Women government ministers of Luxembourg Christian Social People's Party MEPs 21st-century women MEPs for Luxembourg