Émile Reuter

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Émile Reuter (born August 2, 1874 in Bofferdingen , † February 14, 1973 in Luxembourg ) was a Luxembourg politician .

Émile Reuter studied law in Strasbourg , Nancy and Paris from 1894 to 1898 . In 1903 he became president of the Catholic People's Association ( Association populaire catholique ). Reuter was first elected to parliament in 1911. In 1914 he was one of the founding members of the Luxembourg right-wing party.

Shortly before the end of the First World War , on September 28, 1918, Émile Reuter became Minister of State and Director General (Minister) for Foreign Policy and Home Affairs. In 1925, there was a government crisis when the Luxembourg Parliament ( Chamber ) rejected the government's proposal to unite the Guillaume-Luxembourg and Prince Henri railway companies under Belgian leadership. The Reuter government then resigned.

From 1926 to 1959 (with the exception of the war years ) Émile Reuter was President of the Chamber . He was also the first president of the CSV, founded in 1944 . At the age of 83, he was appointed Luxembourg Ambassador to the Vatican in 1957 .

1919 referendum

In 1919, Luxembourg, which was neutral in World War I but was occupied by German troops, experienced a particularly serious state crisis. Since the Grand Duchess Maria Adelheid had to receive the German Emperor Wilhelm II during the war , as he had set up his headquarters in Luxembourg in 1914, she was suspected of a pro-German attitude after the war and, under pressure from the Allies and large parts of the population, had to go to September 9th. Abdicate on January 1, 1919 in favor of her younger sister Charlotte .

Liberals and socialists demanded the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic in the Chamber . France and Belgium were simultaneously conducting secret negotiations about the fate of Luxembourg. Among other things, negotiations were held about a possible annexation of Luxembourg by one of the two countries, as it is rich in ore deposits. France was prepared to give up in favor of Belgium. A parliamentary vote in Luxembourg on a referendum on questions of the form of government and a new economic union - membership in the Zollverein of the German Reich was terminated - was accepted by the votes of the socialists and liberals.

Reuter, a supporter of the monarchy, decided not only to vote on monarchy and republic, but on four possible answers:

• The retention of the ruling Grand Duchess Maria-Adelheid
• Maintaining the monarchy under a different Grand Duchess
• The introduction of another dynasty
• The introduction of the republic

Reuter chose the answers carefully. As few voters as possible should vote for the republic. So he tried to disperse these voices. The four responses prompted those who were not necessarily in favor of a republic but couldn't make up their minds to make a decision that had a greater chance of voting for the monarchy than the republic. In the end, 80% of the population voted in favor of maintaining the monarchy under the sister of Grand Duchess Maria-Adelheid, Charlotte .

In addition, the Luxembourgers opted for an economic union with France. Since France was not interested, however, it was decided to establish an economic union with Belgium.

As a result of this referendum, Luxembourg anticipated a final decision by the Allies. They then recognized the wishes of the Luxembourg people and Luxembourg was able to continue to exist as an independent state.