List of prime ministers of Luxembourg facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Lesser coat of arms of Luxembourg
Incumbent Luc Frieden since 17 November 2023
Executive branch of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Style	Mr. Prime Minister (informal) The Honorable (formal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	Cabinet European Council
Reports to	Monarch • Parliament
Residence	Hôtel Saint-Maximin
Seat	Luxembourg City
Appointer	Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Formation	1 August 1848; 176 years ago (1848-08-01)
First holder	Gaspard-Théodore-Ignace de la Fontaine
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister
Salary	€256,800 annually
Website	gouvernement.lu

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg is the main leader of Luxembourg's government. This important person leads the government, runs meetings with top officials (called the Cabinet), and chooses who will be ministers.

Since 1989, "Prime Minister" has been the official title. Before that, from 1857 to 1989, the leader was usually called the "President of the Government." Even earlier, before 1857, they were known as the "President of the Council." The Prime Minister also uses the title "Minister of State," but this is usually a secondary title.

This article lists the prime ministers and their governments since the position began in 1848. Luxembourg has a team-based government system. Sometimes, a government might resign, but then many of the same ministers, and even the same prime minister, form a new government. Each smaller date in the lists below shows a change in the government without a new prime minister taking office.

Early Leaders: The Era of Independents (1848–1918)

From when Luxembourg's first constitution was created in 1848 until the early 1900s, politics in Luxembourg was mostly led by politicians who didn't belong to a specific party. During this time, the Grand Duke still had a lot of power. He personally chose and appointed the prime minister.

Because of this, the prime minister was often a middle-ground politician. They were not strongly linked to the two main political groups in the parliament: the liberals (who wanted a separation of church and state) or the conservatives (who supported the Catholic Church).

In the early 1900s, socialism became a new political force in Luxembourg. This made the government more about political parties. However, this didn't fully change the prime minister's position until 1915. That's when Paul Eyschen, who had been prime minister for a very long time, died while in office. His death led to a power struggle between the main political groups. This struggle eventually led to the creation of the formal party system we see today.

Prime Ministers from 1848 to 1890

Prime Minister (birth–death)		Portrait	Time in Office			Monarchs (Reign)
			No.	Start	End
1	Gaspard-Théodore-Ignace de la Fontaine (1787–1871)		1 August 1848		6 December 1848	Willem II (1840–1849)
			First Prime Minister. He resigned after a vote of no confidence.
2	Jean-Jacques Madeleine Willmar (1792–1866)		6 December 1848		23 September 1853	Willem III (1849–1890)
			He was removed from office by the Governor.
3	Charles-Mathias Simons (1802–1874)		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8	23 September 1853 23 September 1854 24 May 1856 2 June 1857 29 November 1857 12 November 1858 23 June 1859 15 July 1859	23 September 1854 24 May 1856 2 June 1857 29 November 1857 12 November 1858 23 June 1859 15 July 1859 26 September 1860
			There was a political event called the Coup of 1856. He was "President of the Council" until November 1857, then "President of the Government." He resigned.
4	Victor, Baron de Tornaco (1805–1875)		1 2 3 4 5 6 7	26 September 1860 9 September 1863 31 March 1864 26 January 1866 3 December 1866 14 December 1866 18 June 1867	9 September 1863 31 March 1864 26 January 1866 3 December 1866 14 December 1866 18 June 1867 3 December 1867
			His cabinet in December 1866 was the shortest. He dealt with the Luxembourg Crisis and the Treaty of London. He resigned after a vote of no confidence.
5	Lambert Joseph Emmanuel Servais (1811–1890)		1 2 3 4 5	3 December 1867 30 September 1869 12 October 1869 7 February 1870 25 May 1873	30 September 1869 12 October 1869 7 February 1870 25 May 1873 26 December 1874
			He resigned.
6	Félix, Baron de Blochausen (1834–1915)		1 2 3 4 5 6	26 December 1874 26 April 1875 8 July 1876 6 August 1878 21 September 1882 12 October 1882	26 April 1875 8 July 1876 6 August 1878 21 September 1882 12 October 1882 20 February 1885
			He was removed from office by the Grand Duke.
7	Jules Georges Édouard Thilges (1817–1904)		20 February 1885		22 September 1888
			He resigned.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands shared the same monarchs with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 1815 to 1890. The Grand Duchy has had its own monarchs since 1890.

Prime Ministers from 1890 to 1918

Prime Minister (birth–death)		Portrait	Time in Office			Monarchs (Reign)
			No.	Start	End
8	Paul Eyschen (1841–1915)		1 2 3 4 5 6	22 September 1888 26 October 1892 23 June 1896 25 October 1905 9 January 1910 3 March 1915	26 October 1892 23 June 1896 25 October 1905 9 January 1910 3 March 1915 11 October 1915	Adolphe (1890–1905) Guillaume IV (1905–1912)
			This was the longest time anyone served as prime minister. His cabinet from 1896–1905 was the longest. Luxembourg was occupied by Germany on August 2, 1914. He died while in office.
9	Mathias Mongenast (1843–1926)		12 October 1915		6 November 1915	Marie-Adélaïde (1912–1919)
			This was the shortest time anyone served as prime minister. He was called "President of the Council." He resigned.
10	Hubert Loutsch (1878–1946)		6 November 1915		24 February 1916
			He led a government that did not have a majority of support. He resigned after a vote of no confidence.
11	Victor Thorn (1844–1930)		24 February 1916		19 June 1917
			He led a National Union Government. He resigned.
12	Léon Kauffman (1869–1952)		19 June 1917		28 September 1918
			He resigned.

Modern Politics: The Party System (1918–Present)

In 1918, near the end of World War I, a new parliament was elected. Its main goal was to change the constitution. To do this, the main political groups formed official parties. This helped them have more power in discussions. The changes to the constitution allowed everyone to vote, made voting mandatory, and limited the power of the monarch.

Since political parties became formal, almost all governments have included members from more than one party. Most of the time, governments are "grand coalitions." This means the two largest parties work together, even if they have different ideas. This has made Luxembourg one of the most stable democracies in the world. Two governments (between 1945 and 1947) even included members from every party in the parliament.

During World War II, Nazi Germany occupied Luxembourg. A Nazi official, Gustav Simon, governed Luxembourg. However, Pierre Dupong continued to lead the government in exile from the United Kingdom. He remained prime minister until Luxembourg was freed in December 1944. Even though Luxembourg was officially taken over on August 30, 1942, Pierre Dupong is still considered to have been the prime minister throughout this time.

Prime Ministers Since 1918

Political Party:       PD       PNI       CSV       DP

#	Prime Minister (birth–death)	Portrait	Political Party		Time in Office			Government	Coalition	Monarchs (Reign)
					Election	Start	End
13	Émile Reuter (1874–1973)			PD	— 1919 1922	28 September 1918 5 January 1920 15 April 1921	5 January 1920 15 April 1921 20 March 1925	Reuter	PD, LL PD, LL PD	Marie-Adélaïde 1912-1919
										Charlotte (1919–1964)
					This was the first government formed by political parties. The Armistice was signed, and the Constitution was changed. His cabinet from 1921–1925 was the only one-party government. He resigned.
14	Pierre Prüm (1886–1950)			PNI	1925	20 March 1925	16 July 1926	Prüm	PNI, PRS
					He was the only prime minister from the PNI party. He resigned.
15	Joseph Bech (1887–1975) (1st time)			PD	1928, 1931 1934 1937	16 July 1926 11 April 1932 27 December 1936	11 April 1932 27 December 1936 5 November 1937	Bech	PD, LdG PD, PRL PD, PRL
					His cabinet from 1926–1932 was the longest in the party era. He resigned.
16	Pierre Dupong (1885–1953)			PD	— — —	5 November 1937 7 February 1938 6 April 1940	7 February 1938 6 April 1940 10 May 1940	Dupong-Krier	PD, POL, PRL PD, POL PD, POL
					—	10 May 1940	23 November 1944	Govt. in Exile	PD, POL
				CSV	— — —	23 November 1944 23 February 1945 21 April 1945	23 February 1945 21 April 1945 14 November 1945	Liberation	CSV, LSAP
					1945 —	14 November 1945 29 August 1946	29 August 1946 1 March 1947	National Union	CSV, LSAP, GD, KPL
					1948	1 March 1947 14 July 1948	14 July 1948 3 July 1951	Dupong-Schaus	CSV, GD
					1951	3 July 1951	23 December 1953	Dupong-Bodson	CSV, LSAP
					During World War II, Luxembourg remained neutral. He led an emergency government during the Nazi occupation and a government in exile. After liberation, he led Liberation Governments and National Union Governments. Luxembourg's neutrality ended. He died while in office.
17	Joseph Bech (1887–1975) (2nd time)			CSV	— 1954	29 December 1953 29 June 1954	29 June 1954 29 March 1958	Bech-Bodson	CSV, LSAP
					He resigned.
18	Pierre Frieden (1892–1959)			CSV	1959	29 March 1958	23 February 1959	Frieden	CSV, LSAP
					He won the 1959 election, but died while in office.
19	Pierre Werner (1913–2002) (1st time)			CSV	—	2 March 1959	15 July 1964	Werner-Schaus I	CSV, DP
					1964 —	15 July 1964 3 January 1967	3 January 1967 6 February 1969	Werner-Cravatte	CSV, LSAP	Jean (1964–2000)
					1968 — —	6 February 1969 5 July 1971 19 September 1972	5 July 1971 19 September 1972 15 June 1974	Werner-Schaus II	CSV, DP
					This was the longest time anyone served as prime minister in the party era. His party went into opposition after the 1974 election.
20	Gaston Egmond Thorn (1928–2007)			DP	1974 — —	15 June 1974 21 July 1976 16 September 1977	21 July 1976 16 September 1977 16 July 1979	Thorn	DP, LSAP
					He was the first prime minister from the DP party. He later became Deputy Prime Minister under Werner when the CSV returned to government after the 1979 election.
21	Pierre Werner (1913–2002) (2nd time)			CSV	1979 —	16 July 1979 3 March 1980	3 March 1980 22 November 1980	Werner-Thorn	CSV, DP
					— —	22 November 1980 21 December 1982	21 December 1982 20 July 1984	Werner-Flesch
					He retired at the 1984 election.
22	Jacques Santer (born 1937)			CSV	1984	20 July 1984	14 July 1989	Santer-Poos I	CSV, LSAP
					1989 —	14 July 1989 9 December 1992	9 December 1992 13 July 1994	Santer-Poos II
					1994	13 July 1994	26 January 1995	Santer-Poos III
					He was called "President of the Government" until 1989, then "Prime Minister" from 1989. He was later appointed President of the European Commission.
23	Jean-Claude Juncker (born 1954)			CSV	— —	26 January 1995 4 February 1998	4 February 1998 7 August 1999	Juncker-Poos	CSV, LSAP
					1999	7 August 1999	31 July 2004	Juncker-Polfer	CSV, DP	Henri (2000–present)
					2004	31 July 2004	23 July 2009	Juncker-Asselborn I	CSV, LSAP
					2009	23 July 2009	4 December 2013	Juncker-Asselborn II
					This was the longest continuous time anyone served as prime minister in the party era. He was also the President of the Eurogroup. He was later appointed President of the European Commission.
24	Xavier Bettel (born 1973)			DP	2013	4 December 2013	5 December 2018	Bettel I	DP, LSAP, DG
					2018	5 December 2018	17 November 2023	Bettel II
25	Luc Frieden (born 1963)			CSV	2023	17 November 2023	Incumbent	Frieden-Bettel	CSV, DP

Timeline of Prime Ministers

See also

• List of monarchs of Luxembourg
• Lists of office-holders
• List of presidents of the Council of State of Luxembourg