Biography

Born on 19 May 1950 in Luxembourg

Responsibilities in the Parliamentary Assembly since 1993

  • President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since January 2014
  • President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in 2009-2014
  • President of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education in 2008-2010
  • Rapporteur : has prepared 15 reports, including on “The religious dimension of intercultural dialogue”, “Political transition in Tunisia”, “Fight against racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and intolerance” (opinion), and “Protection and reinforcement of the human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe”

National Mandates

  • Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1979-1999 and since 2004
  • Minister of Education and Sport in 1999-2004
  • Echevin (Vice-Mayor) of the city of Luxembourg in 1982-1999 and in 2005-2009
  • Municipal Counsellor of the city of Luxembourg in 1976-1981

International Mandates

  • Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1993-1999 and since 2004
  • Bureau Member of the ALDE Party since 2009
  • Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF) since 2004
  • Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union (WEU) in 2004- 2009
  • Member of the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly in 1979-1993

Civil Society

  • Former President of the Association of Liberal Women of Luxembourg
  • Volunteer for charity organisations

Language skills

  • French, English, German, Luxembourgish : fluent
  • Italian : basic

Education

  • The Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen and the University of Mannheim: BA in psychology
  • Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Program for Senior Managers in Government

Download the Curriculum Vitae (PDF)