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Luc Frieden

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The Honourable
Luc Frieden
Frieden in 2024
25th Prime Minister of Luxembourg
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 November 2023
MonarchHenri
DeputyXavier Bettel
Preceded byXavier Bettel
Minister of Finances
In office
23 July 2009 – 4 December 2013
Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker
Preceded byJean-Claude Juncker
Succeeded byPierre Gramegna
Minister of Defence
In office
31 July 2004 – 22 February 2006
Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker
Preceded byCharles Goerens
Succeeded byJean-Louis Schiltz
Minister of Justice
In office
30 January 1998 – 23 July 2009
Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker
Preceded byMarc Fischbach
Succeeded byFrançois Biltgen
Minister of the Treasury and Budget
In office
30 January 1998 – 23 July 2009
Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker
Preceded byMarc Fischbach
Succeeded byJean-Claude Juncker
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
24 October 2023 – 17 November 2023
ConstituencyCentre
In office
5 December 2013 – 15 September 2014
ConstituencyCentre
In office
12 June 1994 – 30 January 1998
ConstituencyCentre
President of the Christian Social People’s Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 March 2024
Preceded byElisabeth Margue
Personal details
Born (1963-09-16) 16 September 1963 (age 61)
Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Political partyChristian Social People's Party
Spouse
Marjolijne Droogleever Fortuyn
​
​
(m. 1992)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Luxembourg
Pantheon-Sorbonne University
Queens' College, Cambridge
Harvard University
OccupationPolitician • lawyer • banker • financier

Luc Frieden (Luxembourgish pronunciation: [luk ˈfʀi.dən]; born 16 September 1963) is a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer who is the 25th prime minister of Luxembourg since November 2023. A member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), he held numerous cabinet positions in the Luxembourgish government between 1998 and 2013, notably serving as the minister for the Treasury and Budget during the transition from the Franc to the Euro and as minister of Finance during the European debt crisis. Frieden was president of the Luxembourgish Chamber of Commerce and Eurochambres, the business federation of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

In early 2023, he was elected to be the lead candidate of the CSV for the general elections in October. He led his party to victory, slightly increasing its vote share and maintaining its 21 seats, while the incumbent Bettel II Government lost its majority due to the decline of The Greens. Consequently, on 9 October 2023, he was appointed by Grand Duke Henri to form a new coalition government, and succeeded Xavier Bettel as prime minister on 17 November where Bettel became the deputy prime minister and minister for Foreign Affairs.[1]

Background and education

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Frieden completed high school at the Athénée de Luxembourg and received thereafter an international university education in France, the UK and the US. He graduated in business law from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He obtained a master's degree in comparative law from Queens' College, Cambridge and a further Master of Laws from Harvard Law School.

Besides Luxembourgish, he speaks fluent English, German, French and has a good working knowledge of Dutch, his wife's native language.

Chamber of Deputies (1994–1998)

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In 1994, Frieden was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg for the Christian Democrats (CSV - EPP), becoming, at the age of thirty, the then youngest member of the House. While in Parliament, he chaired the Finance Committee as well as the Constitutional Committee and was a leading figure in the process leading to the establishment of a constitutional court and of independent administrative courts in Luxembourg.

Minister (1998–2013)

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In 1998, he became, at the age of 34, Minister of Justice in the Government led by prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker. He also served as Minister of the Treasury and Budget from 1998 to 2009, as Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2006 and Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2013.

In the capacity of Minister for the Treasury and Budget, Frieden was responsible for the successful introduction of the euro as replacement for the Luxembourgish franc. During the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2005,[2] he chaired the European Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). As Minister of Finance he represented his country at the European Council of Ministers of Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) as well as at the Eurogroup and participated in the stabilisation of the Eurozone and the shaping of the European banking union. For 15 years, Frieden served as Governor of the World Bank and acted as chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in 2013.[3][4]

Career in the private sector (2014–2023)

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Frieden joined Deutsche Bank as Vice Chairman in September 2014. Based in London he advised the management board and senior management on strategic aspects related to international and European affairs.[5] He also served as chairman of the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank Luxembourg.[6] He left Deutsche Bank in early 2016.

Frieden has been a partner with the Luxembourgish law firm Elvinger Hoss Prussen since 2016. Between 2019 and 2023, he was also President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce. In 2022, he also took over the Presidency of Eurochambres, the business federation of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Premiership (2023–present)

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Frieden with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in December 2023.
Frieden with Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk in June 2024.

Following his comeback to politics in 2023, Frieden announced that he would resign from all his professional activities. He was elected to be the lead candidate of the Luxembourg Christian Social People's Party (CSV) for the upcoming national general elections in October.

He led the Christian Democrats to victory in the election, with 29.21% of the vote and 21 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. As the Bettel II Government lost its majority, Frieden was invited by Grand Duke Henri to form a government on 9 October 2023. He led coalition talks between the CSV and the Democratic Party (DP), and succeeded Xavier Bettel as Prime Minister on 17 November 2023.

On 22 November 2023, Frieden presented his government's program for the parliamentary term in the Chamber of Deputies. The cutting of red tape, digitalisation and modernisation were the three main concepts that stood out throughout Frieden’s speech. His priorities include the massive recruitment of police officers and the development of video surveillance, the adoption of tax reform and an increased role for the private sector in healthcare.[7][8]

Frieden with former Prime Ministers and Presidents of the European Commission Juncker and Santer in January 2024

Frieden's first external visit was to Olaf Scholz in Berlin on 8 January 2024,[9] amid violent protests by German farmers.[10] On 16 January 2024, news magazine Politico published an article where Frieden stated his intent to build a better relationship with Viktor Orbán and visit him, despite his opposition to the EU's support for Ukraine.[11] This led to criticism, and Frieden stated he had been wrongly cited.[12][13] ´

On 26 February 2024 Frieden travelled to Paris, where Emmanuel Macron was holding an emergency summit over the situation in Ukraine, as they had suffered the loss of Avdiivka. Czech Prime Minister Peter Fiala proposed to purchase 500,000 rounds of artillery ammunition for Volodymyr Zelensky's forces.[14]

On 21 March 2024 at the Nuclear Energy Summit 2024 in Brussels, Frieden declared an openness for nuclear power, breaking a largely held national consensus. Luxembourg would not build a nuclear reactor and was still lobbying neighboring countries to close their reactors close to the Grand-Duchy, but he would not dictate other countries how to transition from fossil fuels. Frieden underlined that research of new nuclear technologies is important in his view. This stance was met with a flurry of criticism inside Luxembourg, ranging from environmental NGOs to nearly all parties. It was noted that Serge Wilmes, minister of environment and also member of Frieden's CSV confirmed the anti-nuclear position of Luxembourg on the same day. In the environmental commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Frieden explained his position on 27 March 2024, which was widely viewed as backpedaling from his statements in Brussels and criticized as uncoordinated and arbitrary.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Other activities

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Corporate boards

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Non-profit organizations

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Criticism

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In 2013, Luxembourg's investor-protection group ProtInvest sent a letter to European Commissioner for Internal Market Michel Barnier, in which it criticised Frieden’s decision to appoint his senior adviser Sarah Khabirpour to the board of the CSSF, the country’s financial regulator.[23]

During the election campaign for the general elections in October 2023, LSAP politician Max Leners published an 80 page long pamphlet about Frieden's political past, criticizing deportations of minors under his rule as Minister of Justice, his views on labour laws, working hours and pensions as well as his implication in the tax rulings uncovered by the Luxleaks revelations.[24]

Personal life

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Frieden married Dutch-born lawyer Marjolijne Droogleever Fortuyn, whom he met while studying at Cambridge, in 1992. They have two children.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Elections législatives 2023 - Audience de M. Luc Frieden, formateur du nouveau gouvernement | Cour grand-ducale". www.monarchie.lu (in French). Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Luxembourg Presidency - Headlines".
  3. ^ "Luc Frieden elected President of Board of Governors of IMF and World Bank". bangkok.mae.lu. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014.
  4. ^ "IMF Videos - 2013 Annual Meetings Plenary".
  5. ^ "Mitteilungen – Deutsche Bank".
  6. ^ "Memorial C".
  7. ^ "New Luxembourg PM makes debut speech in parliament". luxembourg-times-online. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Deklaratioun zum Regierungsprogramm 2023". gouvernement.lu (in Luxembourgish). 22 November 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Luxembourg PM & German Chancellor Discuss Solidarity with Ukraine, Bilateral Cooperation".
  10. ^ "Bloomberg Mercury".
  11. ^ "Luxembourg's new PM wants to be the EU's Orbán whisperer". POLITICO. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  12. ^ Wiltgen, Sidney (22 January 2024). "Editorial / Der "Orban-Flüsterer": Friedens Anbiederung schlägt hohe Wellen". Tageblatt.
  13. ^ "Luc Frieden will doch kein "Orbán-Flüsterer" sein". luxemburger-wort-online (in German). 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  14. ^ "EU seeks more ammunition for Ukraine to reverse Putin's advance".
  15. ^ "Luc Frieden sieht Zukunft für Kernkraft". luxemburger-wort-online (in German). 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Luc Frieden entfacht erneut Debatte über Atomkraft". L'essentiel (in German). 26 March 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Nach den rezenten Aussagen zur Atomkraft von Staatsminister Luc Frieden: Wofür steht diese Regierung?". Mouvement écologique (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Nach Aussage von Luc Frieden / Aktionskomitee gegen Atomkraft: "Den nationalen Konsens nicht leichtfertig aufs Spiel setzen"". tageblatt.lu (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Positioun zu Atomkraaft: Luc Frieden ruddert zeréck". www.rtl.lu (in Luxembourgish). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Lëtzebuerg wiesselt Positioun zu Atomkraaft: Ëmweltorganisatioune kritiséieren nei Haltung vum Premier Frieden". www.rtl.lu (in Luxembourgish). Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  21. ^ Elorza Saralegui, Maria (28 March 2024). "Friedens Faible für Atom: Offen für alle Energien". woxx. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  22. ^ Membership Trilateral Commission.
  23. ^ Ellen Kelleher (22 September 2013), Luxembourg faces fresh criticism over good governance Financial Times.
  24. ^ Back, Armand (18 September 2023). "Wahlen / 80 Seiten zu Luc Friedens Vergangenheit: LSAP-Politiker Max Leners' Recherchen sind auch eine Kampfansage". Tageblatt.
  25. ^ "Luc et Marjolijne Frieden: "Nous faisons à peu près tout en équipe"". virgule.lu (in French). 28 November 2023.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Justice
1998–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Defence
2004–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Finances
2009–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Luxembourg
2023–present 		Incumbent
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