Jean Asselborn (; born 27 April 1949) 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 former politician who served in the government of Luxembourg as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 until 2023. He also served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

from 2004 to 2013, under Prime Minister

Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who was List of prime ministers of Luxembourg, prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and president of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also was List ...

.CV at government website
. At the time of his retirement from national politics in 2024, he consistently ranked as the most popular politician in Luxembourg, with a popularity rate of around 80%.

Early life and career

Jean Asselborn was born on 27 April 1949 in Steinfort. Asselborn left school in 1967 at the age of 18, and began working in a Uniroyal plant that same year. It was during this time that he became actively involved in the trade union movement and was elected youth representative of the Federation of Luxembourg Workers (''Lëtzebuerger Aarbechterverband''), the precursor to the current OGBL trade union. In 1968, Asselborn began working for the

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 ...

administration as a civil servant, before returning to Steinfort in 1969, where he was also employed as a civil servant for the local administration. Asselborn resumed his secondary studies in 1976, obtaining a ''diplôme de fin d’études secondaires'' from the Athénée de Luxembourg that same year. Upon obtaining his final secondary school diploma, he became the administrator of the Intercommunal Hospital of Steinfort (''Hôpital intercommunal de Steinfort'') in 1976, a post he held until 2004. In October 1981, he was awarded a master's degree in private judicial law from Nancy 2 University. Asselborn became Mayor of Steinfort in 1982 and served in that position until 2004.

In government

Vladimir Putin in Luxembourg 24 May 2007-22

Following the legislative elections of 13 June 2004, Jean Asselborn joined the government as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration on 31 July 2004. Upon the return of the coalition government formed by the Christian Social Party (CSV) and the

Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (, , ), abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social democratic, pro-European political party in Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Eu ...

(LSAP) as a result of the legislative elections of 7 June 2009, Jean Asselborn retained the offices of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs on 23 July 2009. In October 2012, at his instigation, Luxembourg was for the first time elected to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2013 and 2014. Following the legislative elections of 20 October 2013, Asselborn was appointed Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Asylum on 4 December 2013 in the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the LSAP and the Green Party (“déi gréng”). FM Zarif and Luxembourgish foreign minister Asselborn 01

FM Zarif and Luxembourgish foreign minister Asselborn 01

As of July 2004, Asselborn represents the Luxembourg government at the Council of Ministers of the European Union in its Foreign Affairs and General Affairs configurations. Jean Asselborn is currently the longest-serving minister among the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union.

Political views

In September 2010 Jean Asselborn declined a request of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) to make Luxembourgish an official language of the European Union citing financial reasons and also that German and French being already official languages would be sufficient for the needs of Luxembourg. In early September 2016, Asselborn called for Hungary to be suspended or expelled from the European Union over its "massive violation" of EU fundamental values, citing concerns over its treatment of refugees during the European refugee crisis, independence of the judiciary and

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

. In March 2018, Asselborn condemned the Turkish invasion of northern Syria aimed at ousting US-backed Syrian Kurds from the enclave of Afrin. Asselborn said about

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's conduct that "this has nothing to do with self-defence any more", adding that Turkey would have to cease and desist from attacking the YPG and explain its conduct in Afrin to the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

council. Asselborn doubted that the peace agreement between

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

would bring stability to the region, stating there will be no stability without a two-state solution, and said the UAE had let the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

down with the agreement. In September 2023, Asselborn condemned

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

's military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also stressed that military operations in populated areas must immediately stop to protect the lives of civilians, and Azerbaijan must abide by its international commitments.

Honorary distinctions

In December 2010, Jean Asselborn was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (''Großkreuz des Verdienstordens'') of the Federal Republic of Germany. In October 2013, he was appointed Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (''Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur'') of the French Republic.

References

External links