Eugène Schaus (12 May 1901 – 29 March 1978) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish politician and jurist. Schaus was a leading light in the early days of the Democratic Party, of which he would be

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 1952 until 1959. Schaus held office in a number of governments, under Pierre Dupong and

Pierre Werner Pierre Werner (29 December 1913 – 24 June 2002) was a Luxembourgish politician of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) who was the prime minister of Luxembourg from 1959 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1984. Training and early activities Pi ...

, over a period of thirty years. He served as the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, a position created especially for Schaus, in Werner's first government. He would serve in this capacity again (1969–1974), as well as holding a number of other high offices.

Career

An experienced lawyer, Schaus was elected to 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 Bourb ...

in 1937, in which he served until 1940, when the country was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the Chamber was suspended. Having refused to swear allegiance to the occupying forces, Eugene Schaus, his wife and their three children spent most of the war in German deportation camps in Eastern Europe, and returned only at the end of the war. He was the Group for Patriotism and Democracy member of the National Union Government, as Minister for the Interior, and was elected at the next election, in 1945. He would remain in the Chamber of Deputies, as either a sitting deputy or a

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

, until 1974. Schaus was recognised as the foremost liberal politician in 1947 by his inclusion in the

Christian Social People's Party The Christian Social People's Party (, , ; CSV or PCS) is the largest political party in Luxembourg. The party follows a Christian democratic and conservative ideology and has been described as centre to centre-right. Furthermore, akin to most ...

-Democratic Group coalition under Pierre Dupong, adding the position of

Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

to that for the Interior. Due to his leadership of the GD into this government, it is known as the ' Dupong-Schaus Ministry'. In 1951, the CSV formed a coalition with the

Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (, , ), abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social democratic, pro-European political party in Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Eu ...

, ejecting Schaus from government. The following year, Schaus was elected president of the Democratic Party, succeeding Lucien Dury. In 1958, a scandal over government corruption allowed Schaus, as opposition leader, to lever himself, and the party (by now renamed the ' Democratic Party') back into government. Schaus alleged that the government had been offered a bribe by a contractor; whilst refusing it and eliminating the company from the list of bidders, the attempted bribe was not reported within the required window, and the government collapsed. The

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held the following year, the Democratic Party almost doubled its share of seats, and replaced the LSAP in the governing coalition that was formed after the election and the death of

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Frieden.

Footnotes

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaus, Eugene Ministers for justice of Luxembourg Ministers for foreign affairs of Luxembourg Ministers for defence of Luxembourg Deputy prime ministers of Luxembourg Ministers for the police force of Luxembourg Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Democratic Party (Luxembourg) politicians 20th-century Luxembourgian lawyers 1901 births 1978 deaths People from Junglinster Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany