Luxembourg: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duchee de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg etymology: from the Celtic "lucilem" (little) and the German "burg" (castle or fortress) to produce the meaning of the "little castle" |
|---|---|
| Government type | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital | Luxembourg
Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 49 36 N, 6 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions | 12 cantons (cantons, singular - canton); Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, Mersch, Redange, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz |
| Independence | 1839 (from the Netherlands) |
| National holiday | National Day (birthday of Grand Duke Henri) 23 June; note - this date of birth is not the true date of birth for any of the Royals, but the festivities were shifted to allow observance during a more favorable time of year |
| Constitution | history: previous 1842 (heavily amended 1848, 1856); latest effective 17 October 1868 amendments: adoption requires at least two-thirds vote by the Chamber of Deputies in two successive readings three months apart; a referendum can be substituted for the second reading if voted for by more than one-quarter of the Chamber members or by 25,000 valid voters; adoption by referendum requires a majority of all valid voters; amended many times, last in 2009 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: limited to situations where the parents are either unknown, stateless, or when the nationality law of the parents' state of origin does not permit acquisition of citizenship by descent when the birth occurs outside of national territory citizenship by descent: at least one parent must be a citizen of Luxembourg dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Etienne SCHNEIDER (since 4 December 2013) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - a 21-member Council of State appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies elections: last held on 20 October 2013 (next to be held by June 2018) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 33.7%, LSAP 20.3%, DP 18.3%, Green Party 10.1%, ADR 6.6%, The Left 4.9%, other 6.1%; seats by party - CSV 23, LSAP 13, DP 13, Green Party 6, ADR 3, The Left 2 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Superior Court of Justice includes Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation (consists of 27 judges on 9 benches); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members) judge selection and term of office: judges of both courts appointed by the monarch for life subordinate courts: district and local tribunals and courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Alternative Democratic Reform Party or ADR (Jean SCHOOS) Christian Social People's Party or CSV (Marc SPAUTZ) Democratic Party or DP (Corinne CAHEN) Green Party (Francoise FOLMER and Christian KMIOTEK) Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP (Claude HAAGEN) The Left (dei Lenk/la Gauche) (Central Committee) other minor parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Business Federation Luxembourg or FEDIL (Nicolas BUCK, chairman) Centrale Paysanne (Marc FISCH) (federation of agricultural producers) Chamber of Artisans (Chambre des Metiers) (Roland KUHN) Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce) (Carlo THELEN) Chambre des Salaries or CSL (Jean-Claude REDING) General Association of Officials (Confederation Generale de la Fonction Publique or CGFP (Romain WOLFF) (trade union representing civil service) Greenpeace (Kumi NAIDOO) LCGP (Patrick DURY) (center-right trade union) Luxembourg Association of Bankers and Insurance Employees or ALEBA (Roberto SCOLATI) Luxembourg Bankers Association or ABBL (Yves MAAS) Mouvement Ecologique (Blanche WEBER) (environment protection) OGB-L (Andre ROELTGEN) (center-left trade union) |
| International organization participation | ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sylvie LUCAS (since 16 September 2016) chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (1) (202) 265-4171 through 72 FAX: (1) (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | US chief of mission: Ambassador David MCKEAN (since 14 April 2016) embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: (352) 46-01-23 FAX: (352) 46-14-01 |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; the coloring is derived from the Grand Duke's coat of arms (a red lion on a white and blue striped field) |
| National symbol(s) | lion; national colors: red, white, light blue |
| National anthem | name: "Ons Heemecht" (Our Motherland); "De Wilhelmus" (The William) lyrics/music: Michel LENTZ/Jean-Antoine ZINNEN; Nikolaus WELTER/unknown note: "Ons Heemecht," adopted 1864, is the national anthem, while "De Wilhelmus," adopted 1919, serves as a royal anthem for use when members of the grand ducal family enter or exit a ceremony in Luxembourg |