Etienne Schneider

Etienne Schneider (Luxembourgish pronunciation: [ˈʃnɑɪ̯dɐ]; born 29 January 1971) is a Luxembourg politician and economist of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). He was a municipal councillor in Kayl from 1995 to 2005, and from 1997 to 2004, he was secretary general of the parliamentary group of the LSAP in Parliament.[1] He was elected first alderman of the municipality of Kayl in 2005, a mandate he held until May 2010.[1] Schneider was appointed Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade on 1 February 2012.[1] In the government formed following the 2013 Luxembourg general election he is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy. He continued to hold these offices following the 2018 Luxembourg general election, where he became the health minister too. From 2013 to 2018, he served as Minister for Defence. Following the 2018 Luxembourg general election, he became the first openly gay politician to be reelected for the office of deputy minister.

Etienne Schneider
First Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg
In office 4 December 2013 – 4 February 2020 Serving with Félix Braz (2018-20)
Prime Minister	Xavier Bettel
Preceded by	Jean Asselborn
Succeeded by	Dan Kersch
Minister of Health
In office 5 December 2018 – 4 February 2020
Prime Minister	Xavier Bettel
Preceded by	Lydia Mutsch
Succeeded by	Paulette Lenert
Minister for Economy and Trade
In office 1 February 2012 – 4 February 2020
Prime Minister	Jean-Claude Juncker Xavier Bettel
Preceded by	Jeannot Krecké
Succeeded by	Franz Fayot
Minister for Defence
In office 4 December 2013 – 5 December 2018
Prime Minister	Xavier Bettel
Preceded by	Jean-Marie Halsdorf
Succeeded by	François Bausch
Personal details
Born	(1971-01-29) 29 January 1971 Dudelange, Luxembourg
Political party	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party
Spouse(s)	Jérôme Domange ( m. 2016)
Alma mater	ICHEC Brussels Management School University of Greenwich

Biography

Born in Dudelange, Schneider completed his secondary schooling at the Lycée Technique d'Esch-sur-Alzette before studying at the ICHEC Brussels Management School and at the University of Greenwich in London where he graduated in business and finance in 1995.[1]

In 1995, Schneider became a councilor in Kayl, a post he maintained until 2005, subsequently becoming first alderman until 2010.[1] In 1997, he was appointed secretary general of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) until he became chairman of the board of the electricity utility Cegedel, subsequently becoming chairman and Managing Director of the German energy company, Enovos (a grid company), the creation of which is also credited to him. Schneider was also a research assistant at the European Parliament in Brussels between 1995 and 1996. In the Kayl municipal elections in 2005 he was elected as first alderman of the municipality which post he occupied till May 2010. During 1997, he worked in Brussels as a project leader with NATO. In 2010, he also became chairman and managing director of Luxembourg's Société Nationale de Crédit et d'Investissement but resigned all his business appointments when he became Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade in February 2012,[1] replacing Jeannot Krecké. In this capacity he also co-chaired the Superior Committee for Research and Innovation. His tasks as minister involved private sector research and implementation of the bill of 5 June 2009 relating to assistance in the field of research.[2]

Following the legislative elections of 20 October 2013, Étienne Schneider was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy, Minister of Internal Security and Minister of Defence on 4 December 2013 in the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the LSAP and the Green Party (déi gréng).

After the legislative elections of 14 October 2018, Étienne Schneider was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy and Minister of Health on 5 December 2018 in the coalition government formed by the DP, the LSAP and déi gréng.[3]

He is openly gay, and married his husband Jérôme Domange in 2016.[4][5]

As Minister of Economy Schneider has expressed his support for the space program currently taking place to mine near-Earth asteroids in a statement, also mentioning the environmental benefits for mining off Earth.[6]

He continued to hold these offices following the 2018 Luxembourg general election, where he became the health minister too. From 2013 to 2018, he served as Minister for Defence. Following the 2018 Luxembourg general election, he became the first openly gay politician to be reelected for the office of deputy minister.

See also

• Bettel-Schneider Ministry (2013 – )

References

1. "Biography of Etienne Schneider". Gouvernement.lu. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
2. "Etienne Schneider appointed as new Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade". Erawatch. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
3. "Biography Etienne Schneider". Luxembourg Government. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
4. "Luxembourg to become first country to have gay prime minister and gay deputy PM". PinkNews. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
5. "Etienne Schneider: Luxembourg Deputy PM ties the knot". 2 November 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
6. "Luxembourg, running out of Earth to mine, looks further afield". ABC News. 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2017-10-08.

External links

• Biography at the Luxembourg government website

Political offices
Preceded by Jeannot Krecké	Minister for the Economy and Foreign Trade 2012–present	Incumbent