Claude Meisch
Meisch in 2020
Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning
Assumed office
17 November 2023
Prime MinisterLuc Frieden
Preceded byHenri Kox (Housing)
Claude Turmes (Spatial Planning)
Minister of National Education, Children and Youth
Assumed office
4 December 2013
Prime MinisterXavier Bettel
Luc Frieden
Preceded byMady Delvaux-Stehres
Minister of Research and Higher Education
In office
4 December 2013 – 17 November 2023
Prime MinisterXavier Bettel
Preceded byMartine Hansen
Succeeded byStéphanie Obertin
Mayor of Differdange
In office
2002 – 4 December 2013
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
13 July 1999 – 4 December 2013
ConstituencySouth
Personal details
Born (1971-11-27) 27 November 1971
Pétange, Luxembourg
NationalityLuxembourger
Political partyDemocratic Party (since 1994)
Alma materTrier University
Profession

Claude Meisch (born 27 November 1971, in Pétange)[1] is a Luxembourg 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 Accommodation in 2023 in the government of Luc Frieden[2] 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.[1]


Early life and education

Born in Pétange, in the south-west of the country, Meisch attended the town's Lycée technique Mathias-Adam, before studying at the University of Trier, in Germany. After graduating, he worked for the private Banque de Luxembourg.[3] Meisch was Vice-President of the Democratic and Liberal Youth, the DP's youth wing, from 1995 until 2000.[4]

Political career

Meisch ran for the Chamber of Deputies, to represent Sud, in the 1999 election. Meisch finished sixth amongst DP candidates, with the top four being elected.[5] However, the election saw the DP become kingmakers, giving them enough leverage over the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) to allow them to appoint seven Democratic deputies, including Henri Grethen and Eugène Berger, to the new government. Grethen insisted that Berger be appointed along with him, specifically so that Meisch could enter the Chamber.[6] With Grethen and Berger required to vacate their seats to take up their government positions, Meisch filled in the gap and entered the Chamber of Deputies on 12 August 1999.[1]

In the 2004 legislative election, Meisch was re-elected to the Chamber directly, placing second amongst DP candidates in an election that saw the party's representation from Sud reduced from four to two.[7] The result was bad for the DP across the country, losing five seats and seeing them replaced as the Christian Social People's Party's (CSV) coalition partners by the LSAP. After the election, Lydie Polfer resigned as DP President, having served the term limit imposed by the party's statutes. Meisch was the only candidate put forward to replace her, and recorded a 90% vote in his favour (between him and none of the above), holding the position since 10 October 2004.[1]

The 2005 election to Differdange communal council saw Meisch score an 'historic' victory,[8] in leading the DP to buck the national trend and greatly increase their vote: winning 43% of the vote and winning eight seats.[4] Meisch thus remained as mayor, heading a coalition with the Greens, although the size of the victory allowed Meisch to choose his coalition partner from any of the other three parties.

In the 2009 legislative election, Meisch was re-elected, winning more votes that any other Democratic candidate in the entire country, and winning more than twice as many votes as Eugène Berger, who placed second on the DP list in Sud.[9] The party nationwide fell 1.1% of the vote and lost a seat. Immediately after the election, Meisch ruled out a coalition with the CSV, so the DP continued in opposition.[10]

Minister of Education

In 2020, Meisch was at the centre of controversy when, as Minister of Education, he forced the Luxembourgish public schools to reopen in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic despite protests from the teachers union (SNE)[11] and an online petition from 23,000 concerned parents urging him not to do so.[12] A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education stated that "parents have no say in the matter".[13]

In July 2021, in response to the effects of stress and emotional insecurity caused by the covid-pandemic, Claude Meisch as Minister of National Education, Children and Youth, inaugurated the Achtsamkeitspfad open-air mindfulness trail at the Munsbach Castle, designed and created by the Center for Social-Emotional Development (CDSE) to reinforce psychic balance, the first meditation concept of its kind in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Claude Meisch congratulated the CDSE for their initiative to promote awareness of emotional skills and well-being, and thanked the commune of Schuttrange for their support.[14]

In 2023 he was appointed Minister of Education, Children and Youth and as Minister of Accommodation in the government of Luc Frieden.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Claude Meisch" (in French). Chamber of Deputies. Archived from the original on 25 December 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  2. ↑ "Période actuelle - gouvernement.lu // L'actualité du gouvernement du Luxembourg". www.gouvernement.lu. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Le bourgmestre Claude Meisch" (in French). Ville de Differdange. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  4. 1 2 Gaudron, Jean-Michel (25 November 2004). "La marque "jeune"" (in French). PaperJam. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  5. ↑ "1999: Circonscription Sud" (in French). Service Information et Presse. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  6. ↑ Hansen, Josée (14 December 2007). "Le défi européen d'Henri G." (in French). d'Lëtzebuerger Land. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "2004: Circonscription Sud" (in French). Service Information et Presse. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  8. ↑ "Luxembourg" (PDF). Centre de données socio-politiques. 7 April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  9. ↑ "2009: Circonscription Sud" (in French). Service Information et Presse. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  10. ↑ Glesener, Marc (9 June 2009). "DP und Déi Gréng sagen Nein" (in German). Luxemburger Wort. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  11. ↑ "Teacher's union: SNE address Minister of Education in cautioning Facebook post". today.rtl.lu. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Online petition: Teachers and parents ask for cancellation of the remaining school year". today.rtl.lu. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "Claude Meisch veut rassurer les parents d'élèves". Wort.lu (in French). 20 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Claude Meisch a inauguré le premier sentier de pleine conscience au Luxembourg" (in French). Retrieved 20 July 2021.
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