Charles-''Mathias'' Simons (27 March 1802 – 5 October 1874)Thewes (2011), p. 27 was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

politician and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Un ...

. He was the third

Prime Minister of Luxembourg german: Premierminister von Luxemburg , insignia = Lesser CoA luxembourg.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Lesser coat of arms of Luxembourg , insigniaalt = , flag ...

, serving for seven years, from 1853 until 1860. He received his Doctorate of Laws in 1823 from the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301� ...

. The year after, he registered at the bar of the court of first instance of Diekirch. In 1831 he was a delegate for Diekirch at the

Belgian National Congress The National Congress (french: Congrès national, nl, Nationaal Congres) was a temporary legislative assembly in Belgium, convened in 1830 in the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution. Its purpose was to devise a national constitution for the ne ...

in Brussels, and helped to draft the new

Belgian constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...

. In 1836-1837 he was a member of the provincial council, and in 1841 became a member of the

Assembly of Estates The Assembly of Estates (french: Assemblée des États, german: Ständeversammlung) was the legislature of Luxembourg from 1841 to 1848, and again from 1856 to 1868. Background and role The Congress of Vienna awarded the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg ...

. In 1843-1848 he was a member of the cabinet and in 1848 of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected ...

. From 1 August to 2 December 1848 he became Administrator-general of communal affairs in the de la Fontaine Ministry. After the Willmar government had been deposed by the governor Prince Henry, at the wish of William III, Charles-Mathias Simons was appointed prime minister on 23 September 1853. Simons' time as head of government saw the revision of the constitution of October 1856, which the King-Grand-Duke had pushed through against the wishes of the parliament, which strengthened his powers while curtailing those of the parliament, and which imposed the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

as a control mechanism on the already weakened parliament. This period also saw the opening of the first railway line in Luxembourg (4 October 1859) and the founding of the first banks, the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg and the

Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État The State Bank and Savings Bank (french: Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État), also known by its Luxemburgish name Spuerkeess (), is the leading national financial institution founded in 1856 and governed by the law of March 24, 1989. Spuerk ...

. Simons resigned on 26 September 1860, as opposition to his "coup d'état" government grew too strong in parliament after new elections. From 1860 to 1874 he was a member of the Council of State and from 5 January 1869 until 5. January 1870 he was its president. He died on 5 October 1874 in Luxembourg City.

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* , - , - , - 1802 births 1874 deaths People from Bitburg Prime Ministers of Luxembourg Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Ministers for Justice of Luxembourg Presidents of the Council of State of Luxembourg Members of the Constituent Assembly of Luxembourg Members of the National Congress of Belgium Members of the Council of State of Luxembourg 19th-century Luxembourgian lawyers German emigrants to Luxembourg 19th-century Luxembourgian people {{Luxembourg-politician-stub

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