Joseph Bech

Joseph Bech (17 February 1887 – 8 March 1975) was a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer. He was the 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for eleven years, from 16 July 1926 to 5 November 1937. He returned to the position after World War II, and served for another four years, from 29 December 1953 until 29 March 1958. The 1982–1983 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour. Career Bech studied law at Fribourg and Paris before he received his doctorate in law in 1912, and qualified as a lawyer in 1914. The same year, on 30 June, he was elected to the Luxembourgish Chamber of Deputies for the newly-founded Party of the Right, representing the Canton of Grevenmacher. On 15 April 1921, Bech was appointed to Émile Reuter's cabinet, holding the positions of Director-General for the Interior and Director-General for Education. In 1925, Bech lost those positions, as the Party of the Right was edged out of government by a coalition of the other parties, which formed the government under Pierre Prüm. When Prüm's coalition collapsed in 1926, Bech became Prime Minister, as well as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Education and Wine-growing. He was to remain Foreign and Wine-growing Minister until 1954. His term as Prime Minister, on the other hand, lasted until 1937, when he resigned over the outcome in the referendum on the Maulkuerfgesetz. At various points, he also held the portfolios of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, and the Interior.