Maria Teresa (born María Teresa Mestre y Batista; 22 March 1956) is Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Henri, who acceded to the throne in 2000.

Early life and education

Maria Teresa Mestre was born on 22 March 1956 in Marianao,

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

ie families of Spanish descent.''The Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family'' (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Ministry of State, Press and Information Service, 1986), p. 26 She is also the granddaughter of Agustín Batista y González de Mendoza (1899–1968), who was the founder of the Trust Company of Cuba, the most powerful Cuban bank prior to the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. In October 1959, at the time of the Cuban Revolution, Mestre's parents left Cuba with their children because the new government headed by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

confiscated their properties. The family settled in New York City, where as a young girl Mestre was a pupil at Marymount School. From 1961 she carried on her studies at the Lycée Français de New York. In her childhood, Mestre took ballet and singing courses. She practiced skiing, ice-skating and water sports. She later lived in

Santander, Spain Santander ( , ; ) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. It has a population of 172,000 (2017). It is a port city located in the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Cantab ...

, and in Geneva, Switzerland, where she became a Swiss citizen. In 1980, Mestre graduated from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

s. While studying there, she met her future husband Henri of Luxembourg.

Social and humanitarian interests

Since 2005, Maria Teresa has been the chairwoman of the international jury of the European Microfinance Award, which annually awards holders of microfinance and inclusive finance initiatives in developing countries. Also, since 2006, Maria Teresa has been honorary president of the LuxFLAG (Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency), the first agency to label responsible microfinance investment funds around the world. On 19 April 2007, Maria Teresa was appointed UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children, in which role she has visited Brazil (2007), China (2008), and Burundi (2009). She is a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee and a patron of the ''Ligue Luxembourgeoise de Prévention et d’Action medico-sociales'' and ''SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde''. The Grand Duchess and her husband Grand Duke Henri are the members of the Mentor Foundation (London), created under the patronage of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. She is also the president of the Luxembourg Red Cross and the Cancer Foundation. In 2016, she organized the first international forum on learning disabilities in Luxembourg. Maria Teresa supports the UNESCO Breaking the Poverty Cycle of Women project in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The purpose of the project is to improve the living conditions of girls, women and their families. As honorary president of her own foundation, Maria Teresa set up ''Projet de la Main Tendue'' after visiting the Bujumbura prison in 2009 in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. The purpose of this project is to liberate minors from prison and give them new opportunities for their future. In October 2016, Maria Teresa accepted an invitation to join the international Council of Patrons of the

Asian University for Women Asian University for Women (AUW) is an independent, international university in Chittagong, Bangladesh. AUW admits students solely on the basis of merit, regardless of their family's income level. Currently, 85% of AUW students are on scholarsh ...

(AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east-west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation, etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East. In 2019, Maria Teresa presented her initiative Stand Speak Rise Up! to end sexual violence in fragile environments, launched in cooperation with the Women’s Forum and with the support of the Luxembourg government. The conference is in partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and We Are Not Weapons of War. In 2020 the prime minister of Luxembourg commissioned a report into the Cour le Grand Ducal following concerns over its working. The report found that up to 1/3 of employees had left since 2015 and that "The most important decisions in the field of personnel management, whether at the level of recruitment, assignment to the various departments or even at the dismissal level are taken by HRH the Grand Duchess.” Several newspaper reports at the time highlighted a 'culture of fear' around the Grand Duchess and "that no-one bar the Prime Minister dared confront her". The report also raised concerns about the use of public funds to pay for the Grand Duchess' personal website and that this had been prioritised over the Court's own official website. There were also allegations that staff at the Court have been subjected to physical abuse and these reports were investigated by the Luxembourg judicial police. In February 2023 it was reported by several Luxembourg based media outlets that the Grand Duchess had once again been accused of treating staff poorly during an outfit fitting in October 22. The incident even involved the Prime Minister of Luxembourg having to speak to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess about the treatment of the staff and commissioning a report into it.

Family

On 14 February 1981, Maria Teresa Mestre married His Royal Highness the Hereditary Grande Duke Henri of Luxembourg at the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Luxembourg. They have four sons and a daughter: * Prince Guillaume (born in 1981), the Hereditary Grande Duke, married Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg in 2012. * Prince Félix (born in 1984), married Princess Claire of Luxembourg in 2013. * Prince Louis (born in 1986), married Mrs. Tessy Anthony in 2006 and divorced her in 2019. * Princess Alexandra (born in 1991), married Mr. Nicolas Bagory in 2023. * Prince Sébastien (born in 1992). HRH the Grand Duchess is the grandmother of six grandsons and two granddaughters: * Prince Charles (born 10 May 2020) and Prince François (born on 27 March 2023), the two sons of Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg. *Princess Amalia (born on 15 June 2014), Prince Liam (born on 28 November 2016) and Prince Balthazar (born on 7 January 2024), the three children of Prince Félix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg. *Prince Gabriel (born on 12 March 2006) and Prince Noah (born on 21 September 2007), the two sons of Prince Louis of Luxembourg and Mrs. Tessy Anthony. *Victoire (born on 14 May 2024), the daughter of Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg and Mr. Nicolas Bagory.

Honours

Footnotes

External links

*
Official websiteThe Mentor Foundation charity website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess Of Luxembourg 1956 births Living people People from Havana Grand ducal consorts of Luxembourg University of Geneva alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni 20th-century Spanish nobility Cuban nobility Lycée Français de New York alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of Beneficence (Greece) Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint James of the Sword Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Cuban people of Spanish descent Luxembourgian people of Spanish descent UNESCO goodwill ambassadors Princesses by marriage