Claude Meisch (born 27 November 1971) is 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 with a degree in

financial mathematics Mathematical finance, also known as quantitative finance and financial mathematics, is a field of applied mathematics, concerned with mathematical modeling in the Finance#Quantitative_finance, financial field. In general, there exist two separate ...

from

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

university. Meisch was appointed Minister of Education in 2013 in the government of

Xavier Bettel Xavier Bettel (; born 3 March 1973) is a Luxembourgish lawyer and politician who serves as the List of deputy prime ministers of Luxembourg, deputy prime minister of Luxembourg and as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Luxembourg), minister for Fo ...

, a post he held until 2023. He was appointed Minister of Education and Youth and as Minister of Housing in 2023 in the government of

Luc Frieden Luc Frieden (; born 16 September 1963) is a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer serving as List of prime ministers of Luxembourg, prime minister of Luxembourg since November 2023. A member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), he held nu ...

He has been a member of 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 ...

from 1999 to 2013 and Mayor of Differdange since 2002. He was

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 ...

of the Democratic Party (DP) from 2004 until 2013, of which he has been a member since 1994.

Early life and education

Born in

Pétange Pétange (; ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in south-western Luxembourg. It is part of the Esch-sur-Alzette (canton), canton of Esch-sur-Alzette and is the fifth-most populous commune in Luxembourg, as well as the most populous ...

, in the south-west of the country, Meisch attended the town's

Lycée technique Mathias-Adam In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, before studying at the

University of Trier The Trier University (), in the German city of Trier, was founded in 1473. Closed in 1798 by order of the then French administration in Trier, the university was re-established in 1970 after a hiatus of some 172 years. The new university camp ...

, in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. After graduating, he worked for the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Banque de Luxembourg Banque de Luxembourg (, ) is a financial institution in Luxembourg, which primarily focuses on wealth management and high-net-worth individuals. It is owned by the French banking group Crédit Mutuel, through the group's subsidiary Crédit Indu ...

. Meisch was Vice-President of the

Democratic and Liberal Youth Jdl Jonk Demokraten

The Democratic and Liberal Youth () is the yout ...

, the DP's youth wing, from 1995 until 2000.

Political career

Meisch ran for the Chamber of Deputies, to represent

Sud Sud or SUD may refer to: Places * Sud (Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg constituency), a constituency in Luxembourg * Sud (department), an administrative subdivision of Haiti * Sud Department (Ivory Coast), defunct administrative subdivision of ...

, in the 1999 election. Meisch finished sixth amongst DP candidates, with the top four being elected. However, the election saw the DP become

kingmakers ''Kingmakers'' is an upcoming action-strategy sandbox game developed by Redemption Road Games and published by tinyBuild. The game is scheduled to be released through early access in 2025 for Windows. Plot ''Kingmakers'' is set in medieval ...

, giving them enough leverage over the

Christian Social People's Party The Christian Social People's Party (, , ; CSV or PCS) 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 ...

(CSV) to allow them to appoint seven Democratic deputies, including

Henri Grethen Henri Grethen (born 16 July 1950) is a politician from Luxembourg. Grethen was born in Esch-sur-Alzette. He attended school in Echternach and studied in Luxembourg and Liège. In 1980, he became secretary of the Democratic Party,Day, Alan John. ...

and

Eugène Berger Eugène Berger (4 December 1960 – 21 January 2020) was a politician from Luxembourg. Berger studied to become a teacher, and worked in this profession from 1988 to 1994. In 1994, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg, Chamber ...

, to the new government. Grethen insisted that Berger be appointed along with him, specifically so that Meisch could enter the Chamber. 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. 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. The result was bad for the DP across the country, losing five seats and seeing them replaced as the

's (CSV) coalition partners by the LSAP. After the election,

Lydie Polfer Lydie Polfer (born 22 November 1952) is a Luxembourgish politician of the Democratic Party who has served as Mayor of Luxembourg City since 2013, having previously held the role from 1982 to 1999. She has served in a number of other capacities, ...

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 "None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting system ...

), holding the position since 10 October 2004. The

2005 election The following elections occurred in the year 2005. * 2005 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2005 Burkinabé presidential election * 2005 Burundian Senate election * 2005 Burundian communal elections * 2005 Burundian constitutio ...

to Differdange communal council saw Meisch score an 'historic' victory, in leading the DP to buck the national trend and greatly increase their vote: winning 43% of the vote and winning eight seats. Meisch thus remained as mayor, heading a coalition with

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, 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

, who placed second on the DP list in Sud. 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.

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) and an

online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...

from 23,000 concerned parents urging him not to do so. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education stated that "parents have no say in the matter". In July 2021, in response to the effects of stress and

emotional insecurity Insecurity is the emotion associated with a lack of confidence within oneself. It is often associated with feelings of fear and uncertainty, especially surrounding one's abilities. The word was originally used in the psychological sense in the yea ...

caused by the covid-pandemic, Claude Meisch as Minister of National Education, Children and Youth, inaugurated the ''Achtsamkeitspfad'' open-air ''

mindfulness Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...

'' trail at the

Munsbach Castle Munsbach Castle (Luxembourgish: ''Schlass Mënsbech''; ; German: ''Schloss Münsbach'') is located to the west of Munsbach, in the Schuttrange commune, east of Luxembourg city. Built in 1775 in the Baroque style, the main building was originally ...

, 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 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, Luxembourg ...

. Claude Meisch congratulated the CDSE for their initiative to promote awareness of emotional skills and well-being, and thanked the commune of

Schuttrange Schuttrange (; ; ) is a commune and small town in southern Luxembourg. It is located east of Luxembourg City. , the town of Schuttrange, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population of 1,782. Other towns within the commune include ...

for their support. In 2023 he was appointed Minister of Education, Children and Youth and as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning in the government of Luc Frieden.

Footnotes

External links

Chamber of Deputies official website biography
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Meisch, Claude Mayors of places in Luxembourg Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg) from Sud Councillors in Differdange Democratic Party (Luxembourg) politicians Luxembourgian economists 1971 births Living people People from Pétange University of Trier alumni