Government of Luxembourg
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The politics of Luxembourg takes place in a framework of a
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
representative democratic
monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...
, whereby the
Prime Minister of Luxembourg german: Premierminister von Luxemburg , insignia = Lesser CoA luxembourg.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Lesser coat of arms of Luxembourg , insigniaalt = , flag ...
is the
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
, and the
multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
.
Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...
is under the constitution of 1868, as amended, exercised by the government, by the Grand Duke and the
Council of Government The Council of Government of Monaco is the Prince's governing body. It consists of six members: Minister of State, who chairs the council, and the five members (four counsellors and one delegate); he also has voting rights, and has control of ...
(cabinet), which consists of a prime minister and several other ministers. Usually, the prime minister is the leader of the political party or coalition of parties having the most seats in parliament.
Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...
is vested in both the government and parliament. The
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. Legislative power is vested in the Chamber of Deputies, elected directly to five-year terms.


Recent political history

Since the end of
World War II 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 opposing ...
, the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) has been the senior partner in all governing coalitions with two exceptions: 1974–79 (DP–LSAP coalition) and since 2013 (DP–LSAP–Green coalition). The Catholic-oriented CSV resembles Christian democratic political parties in other West European nations, and enjoys broad popular support making it the strongest party in the country and the second strongest in those regions where it is not the "number one". The
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(DP) is a
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
party, drawing support from self-employed persons, the business community and the urban upper-middle class. Like other West European liberal parties, it advocates a mixture of basic social legislation and minimum government involvement in the economy. It is strongly pro-NATO and defends the idea of a secular state in which religion should not play any role in public life. The DP had been a junior partner in coalition governments with the CSV in 1979–1984 and 1999–2004, and senior partner in a coalition government with the LSAP in 1974–1979. The traditional stronghold of the party is the City of Luxembourg, the ''Buergermeeschter'' (Mayor) of the nation's capital coming usually from the ranks of the DP. The
Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party 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, pr ...
(LSAP) is a party of social-democratic orientation which has been a junior partner in most governments since 1974 either with the CSV in 1984–1999 and 2004–2013, or the Democratic Party in 1974–1979. Its stronghold lies in the industrial belt in the south of the country (the ''Minette Region'', which is mainly the canton of Esch).
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 ...
have received growing support since it was officially formed in 1983. It opposes both nuclear weapons and nuclear power and supports environmental and ecological preservation measures. This party generally opposes Luxembourg's military policies, including its membership in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. The
Alternative Democratic Reform Party The Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR; lb, Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei, french: Parti réformiste d'alternative démocratique, german: Alternative Demokratische Reformpartei) is a conservative and mildly populist political party ...
(ADR) is a
national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, f ...
political party. It endorses a softly eurosceptic line and advocates and promotes intensely the preservation and use of the
Luxembourgish language Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
. It is sometimes described as a mildly populist right-wing party. The Left is a
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
party. It was formed in 1999. It won its first seat in the Chamber of Deputies in 1999. It currently holds two seats in the Chamber and has done so since 2013. The
Pirate Party Luxembourg The Pirate Party Luxembourg ( lb, Piratepartei Lëtzebuerg, german: Piratenpartei Luxemburg, french: Parti pirate du Luxembourg) is a registered political party in Luxembourg. The party follows the pirate political doctrine developed by the Sw ...
was formed in October 2009. It won its first two seats in the Chamber of Deputies in 2018 with 6.45% of the vote. The
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
(KPL), which received 10%–18% of the vote in national elections from World War II to the 1960s, won two seats in the 1984 elections, one in 1989, and none in 1994. The last election it won a seat in Luxembourg's national legislature was in 1999 with 3.3% of the vote. It lost this single seat in 2004 and has held no seats in Luxembourg's national legislature since. It also holds no seats in the EU Parliament. Its small remaining support lies in the heavily industrialised south. In the June 2004 parliamentary elections, the CSV won 24 seats, the LSAP 14, the DP 10, the Greens 7, and the
Alternative Democratic Reform Party The Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR; lb, Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei, french: Parti réformiste d'alternative démocratique, german: Alternative Demokratische Reformpartei) is a conservative and mildly populist political party ...
5. The Left and the Communist Party each lost its single seat in part due to their separate campaigns. The Democratic Party which had become the junior coalition partner in 1999 registered heavy losses. The long-reigning CSV was the main winner, partly due to the personal popularity of the prime minister
Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Finance Minister ...
(CSV). In July 2004, it chose the LSAP as its coalition partner. Jean Asselborn (LSAP) was appointed as the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. In 2013, the CSV lost one seat (23 seats instead of 24). A complete list of all governments is maintained on the website of the Government of Luxembourg. In 2008, the bitter controversy over euthanasia had parliament pass a measure which would restrict the legislative veto powers of the Grand Duke, who had opposed the pro-euthanasia law on the grounds of his personal moral standards based on the Christian faith, a problem of private conscience very similar to what had occurred in Belgium in the early 1990s when King Baudouin expressed his opposition to a law liberalizing
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
. In July 2013, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced his resignation following a secret service scandal. He had been prime minister since 1995. In December 2013, openly gay
Xavier Bettel Xavier Bettel (; born 3 March 1973) is a Luxembourger lawyer and politician serving as Prime Minister of Luxembourg since 2013. He was previously a member of the Chamber of Deputies (1999–2013) and Mayor of Luxembourg City (2011–2013). Be ...
was sworn in as the new prime minister to succeed Juncker. Bettel of Democratic Party (DP), formed a coalition of Liberals, Social Democrats and Greens who won a combined majority of 32 out of 60 seats in Luxembourg's snap
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
on 20 October 2013. However, Juncker's Christian Democrats (CSV) remained the biggest party with 23 seats. In July 2014, European Parliament elected former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker as the President of the European Commission on 1 November 2014, succeeding Portugal's
Jose Manuel Barroso Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...
, who had held the post since 2004. In December 2018, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was sworn in for a second term, following the narrow victory of his liberal-led coalition in 2018 parliamentary
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
. On July 12, the Luxembourg Parliament supported the expansion of NATO.


Executive branch

, Grand Duke , Henri , n/a , 7 October 2000 , - ,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
,
Xavier Bettel Xavier Bettel (; born 3 March 1973) is a Luxembourger lawyer and politician serving as Prime Minister of Luxembourg since 2013. He was previously a member of the Chamber of Deputies (1999–2013) and Mayor of Luxembourg City (2011–2013). Be ...
, DP , 4 December 2013 , - ,
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
,
Etienne Schneider Etienne Schneider (; born 29 January 1971) is a Luxembourg politician and economist of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). He was a municipal councillor in Kayl from 1995 to 2005, and from 1997 to 2004, he was secretary general of 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 ...
, 4 December 2013 Luxembourg has a parliamentary form of government with a
constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
operating according to absolute primogeniture. According to the constitution of 1868, executive power is exercised by the Grand Duke or Grand Duchess and the cabinet, which consists of a
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
and a variable number of government branch ministers. The Grand Duke has the power to dissolve the
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
and reinstate a new one. However, since 1919, sovereignty has resided with the
nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective Identity (social science), identity of a group of people unde ...
. The monarchy is hereditary within the ruling dynasty of ''Luxembourg-Nassau''. The prime minister and vice prime minister are appointed by the monarch, following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies. All government members are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies. The government is currently a coalition of the DP, LSAP, and Green Party.


Legislative branch

The Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourgish: ''D'Chamber''; French: ''Chambre des Députés'') has 60 members, elected for a five-year term by
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
in four multi-seat
constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
. 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 ...
(Luxembourgish: ''Staatsrot''; French: ''Conseil d'État'') is an advisory body composed of 21 citizens (usually politicians or senior public servants with good political ties) proposed by the Council of Government and appointed by the Grand Duke. Traditionally the heir of the throne is also one of its members. Its role is to advise the Chamber of Deputies in the drafting of legislation. The function of the councilor ends after a continuous or discontinuous period of fifteen years or when the relevant person reaches the age of seventy-two. The responsibilities of the members of the Council of State are extracurricular to their normal professional duties.


Political parties and elections


Judicial branch

Luxembourgish law is based upon the Code Napoléon with numerous updates, modernization, and modifications. The apex of the judicial system is the Superior Court of Justice (Luxembourgish: ''Iewechte Geriichtshaff''; French: ''Cour Supérieure de Justice''), whose judges are appointed by the Grand Duke for life. The same goes for the Administrative Court (Luxembourgish: ''Verwaltungsgeriicht''; French: ''Cour Administrative'').


Administrative divisions

The Grand Duchy is divided into twelve cantons: * Luxembourg/Lëtzebuerg * Esch * Capellen * Remich/Réimech * Grewenmacher/Gréiwemaacher * Echternach/Iechternach * Mersch/Miersch * Redange/Réiden * Diekirch/Dikrech * Wiltz/Wolz * Clervaux/Klierf * Vianden/Veianen These are part of: * three administrative districts: ** Diekirch/Dikrech **
Grevenmacher Grevenmacher (; ) is a commune with town status in eastern Luxembourg, near the border with Germany. It gives its name to and is the capital of the canton of Grevenmacher, and, until its abolition in 2015, the district of Grevenmacher. The town ...
/Gréiwemaacher **
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 ...
/Lëtzebuerg * two judicial districts: Diekirch/Dikrech and Luxembourg/Lëtzebuerg * four electoral constituencies (multi-seated): North, East, Centre, South.


Military

Luxembourg's contribution to its defense and to NATO consists of a small but well-equipped army of volunteers of Luxembourgish and foreign nationality. Its operational headquarters are at the Haerebierg Military Center in Diekirch. Being a landlocked country, it has no navy. It also has no air force. According to an agreement with neighboring Belgium, its airspace is protected by the Belgian Air Force. Also, 18 NATO
Airborne Warning And Control System Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
(AWACS) airplanes are registered as aircraft of Luxembourg based on a decision of the NATO Authorities.Luxembourg - NATO AEW Force
8 September 2005. Aeroflight.co.uk. ''URL accessed 9 May 2006''


International organization membership

Luxembourg is a member of ACCT,
Australia Group The Australia Group is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) and an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to i ...
,
Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
, CE, EAPC,
EBRD The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially foc ...
,
ECE Ece () is a Turkish word meaning queen and may refer to: * Umay, also known as Ece, the Turkic earth goddess Given names * Ece Ayhan Çağlar (1931–2002), Turkish poet * Ece Ege (born 1963), Turkish fashion designer * Ece Erken (born 1978) ...
, EIB,
EMU The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
, EU,
FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
,
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
,
IBRD The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers l ...
, ICAO, ICCt, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to addres ...
, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
, IMF, IMO, Intelsat,
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
,
IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, IOM,
ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...
,
ITU The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
,
ITUC The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...
,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, NEA, NSG,
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
,
OPCW The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member s ...
,
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...
,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
,
UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...
,
UPU Upu or Apu, also rendered as Aba/Apa/Apina/Ubi/Upi, was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named ''Dimašqu'' / ''Dimasqu'' / etc. (for example, "Dimaški"-(see: Niya (kingdom)), in the letter correspon ...
, WCO, WEU,
WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
,
WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...
, WMO, WTrO, Zangger Committee


See also

*
List of political parties in Luxembourg This article lists political parties in Luxembourg. Luxembourg has a multi-party system with three strong political parties; two other moderately successful parties have emerged recently. No single party has a chance of gaining power alone, and ...
* Foreign relations of Luxembourg


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Luxembourg