Joseph Bech
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Joseph Bech | |
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| In office 16 July 1926 – 5 November 1937 29 December 1953 – 29 March 1958 |
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| Preceded by | (1) Pierre Prüm (2) Pierre Dupong |
| Succeeded by | (1) Pierre Dupong (2) Pierre Frieden |
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| Born | 1887-02-17 Diekirch |
| Died | 1975-03-08 (aged 88) Luxembourg City |
| Nationality | Luxembourgian |
| Political party | (1) Party of the Right (2) Christian Social People's Party |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Joseph Bech (17 February 1887 – 8 March 1975) was a Luxembourgian politician. He was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for eleven years, from 16 July 1926 until 5 November 1937. He returned to the position after the Second World War, becoming the seventeenth Prime Minister, serving for another four years, from 29 December 1953 until 29 March 1958.
Bech studied Law at Freiburg and Paris, before qualifying as a lawyer in 1914. The same year, on 30 June, he was elected to the Luxembourgian Chamber of Deputies for the newly-founded Party of the Right, representing the canton of Grevenmacher.
On 15 April 1921, Bech was appointed to Émile Reuter's cabinet, holding the positions of Director-General for the Interior and Director-General for Education. In 1925, Bech lost these positions, as the Party of the Right's was edged out of government by a coalition of all other parties, who formed the government under Pierre Prüm.
When Prüm's coalition collapsed, in 1926, Bech became Prime Minister, which he remained until 1937.
Bech is considered to be one of the 'Founding Fathers' of the European Community.[1]. He was one of the participants of the Messina Conference in 1955, which would lead to the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
[edit] References
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Guillaume Leidenbach |
Director-General for Justice 1923 – 1925 |
Succeeded by Norbert Dumont |
| Preceded by Pierre Prüm |
Prime Minister of Luxembourg 1st time 1926 – 1937 |
Succeeded by Pierre Dupong |
| Preceded by Pierre Prüm |
Minister for Foreign Affairs 1926 – 1959 |
Succeeded by Eugène Schaus |
| Preceded by Pierre Dupong |
Minister for Defence 1951 – 1953 |
Succeeded by Pierre Werner |
| Preceded by Pierre Dupong |
Prime Minister of Luxembourg 2nd time 1953 – 1958 |
Succeeded by Pierre Frieden |
| Preceded by Émile Reuter |
President of the Chamber of Deputies 1959 – 1964 |
Succeeded by Victor Bodson |
