Antoine Marie ''Auguste'' Laval-Metz (4 February 1843 – 29 October 1915)Mersch (1963), p. 577 was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish politician and industrialist. He sat in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, of which he served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

from 1905 until 1915. Laval-Metz was first elected to the Chamber in 1878, representing Luxembourg-Campagne. He sat in the Chamber for 12 years until 1890. Initially, Laval was an opponent of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Paul Eyschen Paul Eyschen (9 September 1841 – 11 October 1915) was a Luxembourgish politician, statesman, lawyer, and diplomat. He was the longest-serving prime minister of Luxembourg, serving for twenty-seven years, from 1888 until his death in 1915. ...

, who had been a childhood friend, but afterwards became one of Eyschen's strongest supporters. In 1890, Laval left the Chamber, before returning in 1899 for a three-year stint. In 1902, Laval became President of the Bar ().Mersch (1963), p. 577 He once again resumed his legislative position in a by-election in 1904, and remained until his death. He was elected President of the Chamber in 1905. His first act was to head the Chamber's deputation to

Schloss Hohenburg Schloss Hohenburg is a Baroque architecture, Baroque ''schloss'' (palace) in Lenggries, Bavaria, Germany. History Construction by the Herwarth family Count Ferdinand Joseph von Herwarth had the palace built in classical Baroque style in 1712&nd ...

for the funeral of Grand Duke Adolphe.Mersch (1963), p. 578 Main issues during his tenure as President of the Chamber were of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

and the creation of schools for girls. On the latter cause in particular, Laval was very involved, and was one of the architects of the creation of girls' schools in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

Diekirch Diekirch (; ; or (locally) ; from ''Diet-Kirch'', i.e. "people's church") is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with List of towns in Luxembourg, town status in north-eastern Luxembourg, in the Diekirch (canton), canton of Diekirch and, until its ...

Echternach Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg. History The town grew around the Abbey of Echt ...

, and

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (, ; ; or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is a city in Luxembourg and the country's List of communes of Luxembourg by population, second-most populous commune, with a population of 36,625 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the ...

. Laval died office in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, on 29 October 1915, having gone to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

to recover from his illness the previous November. Laval married Marie-Albertine-Petronille-Therese Metz, daughter of

Auguste Metz Jean-Antoine Auguste Metz (8 August 1812 – 22 June 1854) was a Luxembourgish entrepreneur, politician, and lawyer. He was a major player in the growing steel industry in Luxembourg during the nineteenth century, as well as a leading liberal me ...

of the politically influential Metz family.Mersch (1963), p. 428

Decorations

* Belgium: Order of the Crown (Grand Cordon) * Luxembourg: **

Order of Adolphe of Nassau The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau () is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House and Luxembourg. It was founded in 1858 as a chivalric order of th ...

(Commander) **

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (, , ) is an order (honour), order of the Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by William II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke William II, who was also King o ...

(Grand Officer)

Footnotes

References

* Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) Liberal League (Luxembourg) politicians Luxembourgian jurists Luxembourgian businesspeople Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Metz family 1843 births 1915 deaths People from Luxembourg City 19th-century Luxembourgian politicians {{Luxembourg-politician-stub