Claude Meisch

Claude Meisch (born 27 November 1971, in Pétange) is a Luxembourg politician with a degree in financial mathematics from Trier university. Meisch was appointed Minister of Education in 2013 in the government of Xavier Bettel. He has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1999 to 2013 and Mayor of Differdange since 2002. He was President of the Democratic Party (DP) from 2004 until 2013, of which he has been a member since 1994. Born in Pétange, in the south-west of the country, Meisch attended the town's Lycée technique Mathias-Adam, before studying at the University of Trier, in Germany. After graduating, he worked for the private Banque de Luxembourg. Meisch was Vice-President of the Democratic and Liberal Youth, the DP's youth wing, from 1995 until 2000. Meisch ran for the Chamber of Deputies, to represent Sud, in the 1999 election. Meisch finished sixth amongst DP candidates, with the top four being elected. However, the election saw the DP become kingmakers, giving them enough leverage over the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) to allow them to appoint seven Democratic deputies, including Henri Grethen and Eugène Berger, 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 Christian Social People's Party's (CSV) coalition partners by the LSAP. After the election, Lydie Polfer 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), holding the position since 10 October 2004.