Political career
Polfer succeeded her father,Camille Polfer,as mayor of Luxembourg City,when he was forced to resign from the position due to poor health after only two years. [2] She was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the 1984 election,representing Centre. She was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of Jean-Claude Juncker from August 1999 until July 2004.
In the 2004 legislative election,Polfer was elected,once again,top of the DP list,coming second overall to Luc Frieden. [3] However,the DP polled poorly overall,losing five seats nationwide,and,with them,their position as the second-largest party and kingmakers. As such,the CSV entered instead into a coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP),ejecting Polfer from the government. The European Parliament election held on the same day also saw the DP lose votes,as well as fall to fourth,behind the Greens for the first time. Nonetheless,Polfer still came top of the DP list (and third overall), [4] and took her place in the European Parliament,where the DP sit in the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
She is now once again Mayor of Luxembourg City,after previously being mayor there from 1982 to 1999. Polfer is a Vice Chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
In 2023 elections Polfer finished 3rd on the DP list,with 19,345 votes. [5]
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.
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.
General elections were held in Luxembourg on 13 June 2004, alongside European Parliament elections. The ruling Christian Social People's Party (CSV) of Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker won the election, increasing its number of seats to its highest since before 1989 and its share of the vote to levels not seen since the 1959 election.
Lucien Lux is a politician and trade unionist from Luxembourg. A member of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, Lux was in the government from 2004 until 2009, under Jean-Claude Juncker.
Nicolas Schmit is a Luxembourgish politician serving as European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights since 2019. A member of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), he is the EU-wide Spitzenkandidat of the centre-left PES at the 2024 EU elections. He was previously a member of the government of Luxembourg from 2004 to 2019 and a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2019.
Carlo Wagner was a politician from Luxembourg. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Mayor of Wormeldange and as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the East Constituency between 1994 and 1999 and between 2004 and 2013. He was also the Minister of Health under the Juncker–Polfer Ministry between 1999 and 2004. He died at the age of 67 following a long battle with illness.
Claude Wiseler is a Luxembourgish politician, serving as the current and 40th President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies since 21 November 2023 and who served as President of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) from 2021 to 2023.
South is one of the four multi-member constituencies of the Chamber of Deputies, the national legislature of Luxembourg. The constituency was established in 1919 following the introduction of proportional representation for elections to the Chamber of Deputies. It consists of the cantons of Capellen and Esch-sur-Alzette. The constituency currently elects 23 of the 60 members of the Chamber of Deputies using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 general election it had 111,884 registered electors.
Centre is one of the four multi-member constituencies of the Chamber of Deputies, the national legislature of Luxembourg. The constituency was established in 1919 following the introduction of proportional representation for elections to the Chamber of Deputies. It consists of the cantons of Luxembourg and Mersch. The constituency currently elects 21 of the 60 members of the Chamber of Deputies using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 general election it had 81,687 registered electors.
Claude Meisch is a Luxembourgish politician with a degree in financial mathematics from Trier university. Meisch was appointed Minister of Education in 2013 in the government of Xavier Bettel, a post he held until 2023. He was appointed Minister of Education and Youth and as Minister of Housing in 2023 in the government of Luc Frieden He has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1999 to 2013 and Mayor of Differdange since 2002. He was President of the Democratic Party (DP) from 2004 until 2013, of which he has been a member since 1994.
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.
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.
Xavier Bettel is a Luxembourgish lawyer and politician who serves as the 14th deputy prime minister of Luxembourg and as the minister for Foreign Affairs since 2023. He served as the 24th prime minister of Luxembourg from 2013 to 2023. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies (1999–2013) and Mayor of Luxembourg City (2011–2013).
Laurent Mosar is a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer. He is a member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) and sits in the Chamber of Deputies. He was the President of the Chamber from 2009 to 2013.
François Bausch is a Luxembourgish politician of the Greens who served as Second Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 2019 to 2023. He is a member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2023. Before entering the government in 2013 was leader of the Greens in the Chamber.
Emile Calmes is a Luxembourgish politician. He is the Mayor of Préizerdaul, having been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1989 until 2007. He has been a member of the Democratic Party (DP) since 1982.
Early general elections were held in Luxembourg on 20 October 2013. The elections were called after Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, at the time the longest-serving head of government in the European Union, announced his resignation over a spy scandal involving the Service de Renseignement de l'État (SREL). The review found Juncker deficient in his control over the service.
Christos Floros is a Greek-born Luxembourgish politician, civil rights campaigner and architect. He is a member of the Democratic Party (DP). He was a candidate in the 2024 European Elections for Member of the European Parliament.
