Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

Maria Teresa (born María Teresa Mestre y Batista; 22 March 1956) is the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the spouse of Grand Duke Henri, who acceded to the throne in 2000. She was born in Cuba.

For other uses, see Maria Theresa (disambiguation).
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Mestre and the second or maternal family name is Batista.
María Teresa
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa in 2009
Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg
Tenure7 October 2000 – present
BornMaría Teresa Mestre y Batista
(1956-03-22) 22 March 1956
Marianao, Havana, Cuba
Spouse
Issue
FatherJosé Antonio Mestre y Álvarez
MotherMaría Teresa Batista y Falla de Mestre
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Early life and education

Maria Teresa was born in 22 March 1956 in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, to José Antonio Mestre y Álvarez (Vedado, Havana, 1926–1993) and wife (m. Vedado, Havana, 1951) María Teresa Batista y Falla de Mestre (Vedado, Havana, 1928–1988), both from bourgeois families of Spanish descent.

In October 1959, at the time of the Cuban Revolution, Maria Teresa Mestre left Cuba with her parents, because the new government headed by Fidel Castro confiscated her family properties. The family settled in New York City, where, as a young girl, she was a pupil at Marymount School. From 1961 she carried on her studies at the Lycée Français de New York. In her childhood, Maria Teresa Mestre took ballet and singing courses. She practices skiing, ice-skating and water sports. She has lived in Santander, Spain, and Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1980 she graduated from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva with a degree in political sciences.

Social and humanitarian interests

Soon after her marriage, Maria Teresa and the then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri established The Prince Henri and Princess Maria Teresa Foundation to help those with special needs integrate fully into society.[1] In 2001, she and her husband created The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Foundation, launched upon the accession of the couple as the new Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg.[2] In 2004, the Grand Duke Henri and the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Foundation was created after the merging of the two previous foundations.[2]

In 1997, Maria Teresa was made a special ambassador for UNESCO, working to expand education for young girls and women and help to fight poverty.[1]

Since 2005, Maria Teresa has been the chairwoman of the international jury of the European Microfinance Award, which annually awards holders of microfinance and inclusive finance initiatives in developing countries. Also, since 2006, Maria Teresa has been honorary president of the LuxFLAG (Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency), the first agency to label responsible microfinance investment funds around the world.[3]

On 19 April 2007, the Grand Duchess was appointed UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children,[4] in which role she has visited Brazil (2007),[5] China (2008),[6] and Burundi (2009).[7]

She is a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee[8] and a patron of the Ligue Luxembourgeoise de Prévention et d’Action medico-sociales and SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde.[9] The Grand Duchess and her husband Grand Duke Henri are the members of the Mentor Foundation (London), created under the patronage of the World Health Organization.[9] She is also the president of the Luxembourg Red Cross and the Cancer Foundation.[1][3] In 2016, she organized the first international forum on learning disabilities in Luxembourg.[3]

The Grand Duchess supports the UNESCO “Breaking the Poverty Cycle of Women” project in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The purpose of this project is to improving the living conditions of girls, women and their families.[9] As a honorary president of her own foundation, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa set up a project called Projet de la Main Tendue after visit the Bujumbura prison in 2009 in Burundi. The purpose of this project is to liberating minor people from prison and to give them new opportunities for their future.[9]

In October 2016, Maria Teresa accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east-west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation, etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East.[10][11]

In 2019, Maria Teresa presented her initiative "Stand Speak Rise Up!" to end sexual violence in fragile environments, launched in cooperation with the Women’s Forum and with the support of the Luxembourg government. The conference is in partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and We Are Not Weapons of War.[12]

Family

Maria Teresa Mestre married Prince Henri of Luxembourg in a civil ceremony on 4 February 1981 and a religious ceremony on 14 February 1981. The consent of the Grand Duke had been previously given on 7 November 1980. She received a bouquet of red roses as a wedding gift from the then Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

The couple have five children and five grandchildren:

Titles, styles, and honours

Titles and styles
  • 22 March 1956 - 14 February 1981: Miss María Teresa Mestre y Batista
  • 14 February 1981 - 7 October 2000: Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
  • 7 October 2000 – Present: Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

Honours
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

National honours

Foreign honours

Dynastic Orders

Footnotes
  1. "Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg". Unofficial Royalty. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  2. "Charity Spotlight: Foundation of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg". royalcentral.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  3. "La Grande-Duchesse" [The Grand Duchess]. Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  4. "HRH Grand Duchess of Luxembourg becomes Eminent Advocate for Children". UNICEF. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  5. "UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children visits AIDS projects in São Paulo". UNICEF. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  6. "Summer camp aims to help children in China affected by AIDS". UNICEF. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  7. "Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg visits Burundi". UNICEF. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  8. "Honorary Board". IPC.
  9. "Who is Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg?". royalcentral.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  10. "Her Royal Highness Joins the Asian University for Women Council of Patrons". finance.yahoo.com.
  11. "CURRICULUM VITAE OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS GRAND DUCHESS MARIA TERESA OF LUXEMBOURG" (PDF). monarchie.lu.
  12. "About". Stand Speak Rise Up! Official Website. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  13. DECRETO DE 3 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2007 - website JusBrasil
  14. "Modtagere af danske dekorationer". kongehuset.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  15. Borger.dk Archived 2013-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
  16. President of Finland
  17. www.gouvernement.lu/ Archived 2012-08-01 at Archive.today, State visit of President Stephanopoulos in Luxembourg, July 2001
  18. "Foreign recipients list". Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  19. Latvian Presidency, Recipients list (.doc) Archived 2013-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  20. Portugal Presidency, Decorations to foreigners, (type "Maria Teresa" then "Pesquisar")
  21. Romanian Presidency website, Recipients of the order (Excel sheet) Archived 2014-03-28 at the Wayback Machine
  22. Boletín Oficial del Estado
  23. Spanish Royal Family website, State visit of Juan Carlos & Sofia in Luxembourg, April 2007, Photo of the Sovereign couples
  24. Order of Saint Isabel
Luxembourgish royalty
Preceded by
Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium		 Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg
Duchess consort of Nassau
2000 – present		 Incumbent
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