Eugène Schaus (12 May 1901 – 29 March 1978) 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 ...

ian politician and jurist. Schaus was a leading light in the early days of 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 ...

, 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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

Pierre Dupong Pierre Dupong (1 November 1885 – 23 December 1953)Thewes, Guy"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché depuis 1848." Service information et presse. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. was a Luxembourgish politician and statesman. He was the 16th ...

and

Pierre Werner Pierre Werner (29 December 1913 – 24 June 2002) was a Luxembourgian politician in the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) who was the 18th Prime Minister from 1959 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1984. Training and early activities Pierre Werne ...

, 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 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, ...

, 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 Bourbon R ...

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

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 The Democratic Party ( lb, Demokratesch Partei, french: Parti démocratique, german: Demokratische Partei), abbreviated to DP, is the major liberal political party in Luxembourg. One of the three major parties, the DP sits on the centre-right,Dum ...

member of the National Union Government, as

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

, 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’, � ...

, until 1974. Schaus was recognised as the foremost

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 ...

politician in 1947 by his inclusion in the

Christian Social People's Party The Christian Social People's Party ( lb, Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei, french: Parti populaire chrétien-social, german: Christlich Soziale Volkspartei), abbreviated to CSV or PCS, is the largest political party in Luxembourg. The party f ...

-Democratic Group coalition under

, adding the position of

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

to that for the Interior. Due to his leadership of the GD into this government, it is known as the '

Dupong-Schaus Ministry The Dupong-Schaus Ministry was the government of Luxembourg between 1 March 1947 and 3 July 1951. It was a coalition between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and the Democratic Group. Background The Dupong-Schaus Ministry came about wh ...

'. In 1951, the CSV formed a coalition with 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 ...

, ejecting Schaus from government. The following year, Schaus was elected

, succeeding

Lucien Dury Lucien Dury (6 February 1912 – 14 May 2002) was a Luxembourgish politician, journalist, and resistance leader. He was one of the founders of the Patriotic and Democratic Group, which later became the Democratic Party, of which he was the firs ...

. In 1958, a scandal over government corruption allowed Schaus, as opposition leader, to lever himself, and the party (by now renamed the '

') 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 a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

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, 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 is not ...

Pierre Frieden Pierre Frieden (28 October 1892 – 23 February 1959)Thewes, Guy"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché depuis 1848." Service information et presse. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. was a Luxembourg politician and writer. He was the 17th Prim ...

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