Career
In 1979,Schmit started his political and diplomatic career as an attachéin the Prime Minister's office in Luxembourg,followed by the Foreign Ministry. In 1989,he became Secretary to the LSAP's delegation in the Chamber of Deputies. He was appointed to the Council of State on 29 October 1991,replacing RenéGrégorius. [1]
In 2004,Schmit was appointed to the first Juncker-Asselborn Government as Minister-Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Immigration,working under Jean Asselborn as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
After the 2009 election,in which Schmit was elected for the Est constituency as the sole LSAP deputy, [2] he did not take his seat but was reappointed to the government. He was promoted to the office of Minister of Labour,Employment and Immigration of Luxembourg. He is the chairman of the EPSCO network of the Party of European Socialists. [3]
Since the 2019 European elections,Schmit has been a Member of the European Parliament,where he belongs to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group. He has since been serving on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
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 Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic European political party.
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 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.
Jacques François Poos was a Luxembourgish politician from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).
Lydie Polfer is a Luxembourgish politician who has served in a number of capacities, including Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Mayor of Luxembourg City, as well as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. She is a member of the Democratic Party (DP).
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%.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, commonly referred to as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a ministry of the government of Luxembourg, which comprises a general secretariat and eight directorates. The ministry is headquartered in the Bâtiment Mansfeld in Luxembourg City.
Paul Wilwertz was a Luxembourgish politician for the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). He was Mayor of Luxembourg City for five years, as well as sitting in the Chamber of Deputies and holding positions in the government.
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–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 Thorn-Vouel-Berg Government was the government of Luxembourg between 15 June 1974 and 16 July 1979. It was led by, and named after, Prime Minister Gaston Thorn. Throughout the term, Thorn's Democratic Party formed a coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). At first, the Deputy Prime Minister was Raymond Vouel, but he left to become European Commissioner in 1976, and was replaced by Bernard Berg.
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 from 1999 to 2013 and mayor of Luxembourg City from 2011 to 2013.
The Juncker–Asselborn II Government was the government of Luxembourg between 23 July 2009 and 11 July 2013. It was led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and Deputy Prime Minister Jean Asselborn. It was formed on 23 July 2009, after the 2009 election to the Chamber of Deputies. It fell after the withdrawal of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party from the government; Prime Minister Juncker submitted his resignation to the Grand Duke on 11 July 2013, and a snap election was called.
The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist Group on 29 June 1953, which makes it the second oldest political group in the European Parliament after the European People's Party Group. It adopted its present-day name on 23 June 2009. Centre-left in orientation, the group mostly comprises social democratic parties and is affiliated with the Progressive Alliance and Socialist International.
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.
Marc Angel is a Luxembourgish politician of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) who has been serving as vice-president of the European Parliament since 18 January 2023, and a Member of the European Parliament since 10 December 2019. In the European Parliament he is known for being a "Champion of Equality".
