Jacques Santer | |
---|---|
President of the European Commission | |
In office 25 January 1995 –15 March 1999 | |
Vice President | Leon Brittan |
Preceded by | Jacques Delors |
Succeeded by | Manuel Marín (Acting) |
22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg | |
In office 20 July 1984 –26 January 1995 | |
Monarch | Jean |
Preceded by | Pierre Werner |
Succeeded by | Jean-Claude Juncker |
Minister of Finances | |
In office 16 July 1979 –14 July 1989 | |
Prime Minister | Pierre Werner Himself |
Preceded by | Jacques Poos |
Succeeded by | Jean-Claude Juncker |
Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
In office 10 June 1979 –4 January 1995 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Jacques Louis Santer 18 May 1937 Wasserbillig,Luxembourg |
Political party | |
Spouse | Danièle Binot (m. 1967) |
Children | Patrick, Jérôme |
Alma mater | |
Jacques Santer (born 18 May 1937) [1] is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the ninth president of the European Commission from 1995 to 1999. He served as the finance minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and the 22nd prime minister of Luxembourg from 1984 to 1995, as a member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), which was the leading party in the Luxembourg government between 1979 and 2013. As Prime Minister of Luxembourg he also led the negotiations on the Single European Act, which effectively set aside the 20-year-old Luxembourg Compromise.
He graduated in 1959 from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and received his doctorate in law in 1961. [1] From 1972 to 1974 he was a junior minister in the government. From 1979 to 1984 he was Minister of Finance, Minister for Work and Minister for Social Security, under Pierre Werner, in the coalition government between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) and the liberal Democratic Party. [1]
After the general election of 1984, Pierre Werner retired as prime minister and from political life in general, and Santer became the new prime minister. [1] He and the CSV now formed a new coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), which had come out of the elections as the second-largest party in the legislature, beating the Democratic Party into third place; the CSV remained the largest party. This CSV/LSAP coalition was to last until 1999.
On 10 November 1990 an article appeared in the newspaper vum Lëtzebuerger Vollek, which translates into "Five years of state secret – The bombing NATO terror commando" that caused a parliament inquiry in which Santer was forced to reveal the existence of a stay-behind army in Luxembourg and being politically responsible to call for its dissolution. [2] The organisation was active since its creation by the then prime minister Pierre Werner in 1959 and was organised by the secret service of Luxembourg, the Service de Renseignement de l'Etat (SREL) and coordinated by the NATO. [3] On 17 December 1990 he told the constitutional committee the organisation had never more than 12 members and was only foreseen to handle intelligence operations, as well as escape and evasion manoeuvers. There were weapons caches established in 1973, but direct access would not have been granted, according to Santer. On 14 October 1990 the remaining members of the organisation were informed and requested to return their radio communication equipment. [4]
Santer became the ninth President of the European Commission in 1995 as a compromise choice between the United Kingdom and a Franco-German alliance, after the Franco-German nominee Jean-Luc Dehaene was vetoed by British prime minister John Major. [5] Santer's selection was barely ratified by a European Parliament upset with the process for which Commission presidents are selected. [6]
In the same year, 1995, Santer became the first recipient of the Vision for Europe Award.
Allegations of corruption concerning individual EU-commissioners led to an investigation into administrative failings (incompetence and malpractice) by a so-called Committee of Independent Experts. Despite clearing most commissioners, the report stated that they had not found a single person showing the slightest sense of responsibility. Because the implicated commissioners refused to resign and the President of the European Commission did not have the power to dismiss individual commissioners, Santer and his entire commission resigned on 15 March 1999, the very day of the report's publication. As the Commission would only have lasted for half a year from then, he was replaced by Vice-President Manuel Marín on an interim basis.
From 1999 until 2004, Santer was a member of the European Parliament. He also was on General Mediterranean Holdings' board, a financial holding owned by Anglo-Iraqi Nadhmi Auchi.
He is currently President of Group Europe, [7] a member section of the Union of European Federalists. He also sits on the board of directors of RTL Group, an international TV broadcasting and production company.
On Monday 23 January 2012, Jacques Santer was appointed to head the board of the Special Purpose Investment Vehicle (SPIV), which is designed to boost the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone rescue fund. [8]
In May 2013, Santer became Honorary Member of SME Europe, the official pro-business organisation of the European People's Party.
Luxembourg is a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and the multi-party system. Executive power is under the constitution of 1868, as amended, exercised by the government, by the grand duke and the Council of Government (cabinet), which consists of a prime minister and several other ministers. Usually, the prime minister is the leader of the political party or coalition of parties having the most seats in parliament. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourgish politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th president of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also was Finance Minister from 1989 to 2009 and President of the Eurogroup from 2005 to 2013.
The Christian Social People's Party 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 parties in Luxembourg, it is strongly pro-European. The CSV is a member of the Christian Group, European People's Party, and the Centrist Democrat International.
The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social democratic, pro-European political party in Luxembourg. The LSAP sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum.
The Democratic Party, is the major social-liberal political party in Luxembourg. One of the three major parties, the DP sits on the centre to centre-right, holding moderate market liberal views combined with a strong emphasis on civil liberties, human rights, and internationalism.
Gaston Egmond Thorn was a Luxembourgish politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally. Amongst the posts that he held were the 20th prime minister of Luxembourg (1974–1979), President of the United Nations General Assembly (1975), and the seventh president of the European Commission (1981–1985).
Jacques François Poos was a Luxembourgish politician from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).
Jean Asselborn is a Luxembourgish former politician who served in the government of Luxembourg as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 until 2023. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2004 to 2013, under Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. At the time of his retirement from national politics in 2024, he consistently ranked as the most popular politician in Luxembourg, with a popularity rate of around 80%.
General elections were held in Luxembourg on 7 June 1964. Despite receiving fewer votes than the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) remained the largest party, winning 22 of the 56 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Following the elections, the Werner-Cravatte Government was formed, a coalition between the CSV and the LSAP. Pierre Werner remained Prime Minister, and Henry Cravatte became his Deputy Prime Minister. This put an end to the previous government, a CSV–Democratic coalition, the Werner-Schaus Ministry.
Luc Frieden 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.
The first Juncker–Asselborn Government was the government of Luxembourg between 31 July 2004 and 23 July 2009. It was led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and Deputy Prime Minister Jean Asselborn.
The Juncker–Polfer Government was the government of Luxembourg between 7 August 1999 and 31 July 2004. It was led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and Deputy Prime Minister Lydie Polfer.
The Juncker–Poos Government was the government of Luxembourg between 26 January 1995 and 7 August 1999. It was led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and Deputy Prime Minister Jacques Poos.
The Santer-Poos I Government was the government of Luxembourg between 20 July 1984 and 14 July 1989. It was the first of three led by Prime Minister Jacques Santer, and the first to have Jacques Poos as Deputy Prime Minister.
General elections were held in Luxembourg on 7 June 2009, together with the 2009 election to the European Parliament. All sixty members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected for five years. The polls were topped by the Christian Social People's Party, which built upon its already high number of seats to achieve a commanding victory, with the highest vote share and number of seats of any party since 1954. Incumbent prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who was the longest-serving head of government in the European Union, renewed the coalition agreement with Deputy Prime Minister and Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party leader Jean Asselborn and formed the Juncker-Asselborn Ministry II, which was sworn in on 23 July 2009.
The Santer-Poos II Government was the government of Luxembourg between 14 July 1989 and 13 July 1994. It was the second of three led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jacques Santer. Throughout the ministry, the Deputy Prime Minister was Jacques Poos.
The Santer-Poos III Government was the government of Luxembourg between 13 July 1994 and 26 January 1995. It was the third of three led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jacques Santer. Throughout the ministry, the Deputy Prime Minister was Jacques Poos.
The second Werner-Schaus Government was the government of Luxembourg between 6 February 1969 and 15 June 1974. Throughout the ministry, the Deputy Prime Minister was Eugène Schaus, replacing Henry Cravatte, who had been Deputy Prime Minister in the Werner-Cravatte Government.
The Werner-Cravatte Government was the government of Luxembourg between 15 July 1964 and 6 February 1969. Throughout its term, the Deputy Prime Minister was Henry Cravatte, replacing Eugène Schaus, who had been Deputy Prime Minister in the first Werner-Schaus Government. It was a coalition between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).
General elections were held in Luxembourg on 8 October 2023 to elect all 60 seats of the Chamber of Deputies.