The minister for defence (Luxembourgish: Verdeedegungsminister; French: ministre de la défense; German: Verteidigungsminister) is a position in the Luxembourg cabinet. Among other competences, the minister for defence is responsible for overseeing the maintenance and deployment of the armed forces, for veterans, for aiding in the execution of the orders of the commander-in-chief, the grand duke.[1]
The position has existed since 5 November 1937. From its creation until 6 February 1969, the position's name was Minister for the Armed Force (Ministre de la Force Armée).[2] From 1969 until 7 August 1999, the official title of the office was Minister for the Public Force (Ministre de la Force publique).[3] In 1999, the briefs of international cooperation and humanitarian relief were added to that of defence, creating the office of Minister for Cooperation, Humanitarian Action, and Defence (French: Ministre de la Coopération, de l’Action humanitaire, et de la Défense).[4] In 2004, the positions were separated again, creating the current title.[5]
| Minister | Party | Start date | End date | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre Dupong | PD | 5 November 1937 | 23 November 1944 | Pierre Dupong | |||
| CSV | 23 November 1944 | 1 March 1947 | |||||
| Lambert Schaus | CSV | 1 March 1947 | 14 July 1948 | ||||
| Pierre Dupong | CSV | 14 July 1948 | 3 July 1951 | ||||
| Joseph Bech | CSV | 3 July 1951 | 29 December 1953 | ||||
| Pierre Werner | CSV | 29 December 1953 | 29 March 1958 | Joseph Bech | |||
| 29 March 1958 | 2 March 1959 | Pierre Frieden | |||||
| Eugène Schaus | DP | 2 March 1959 | 15 July 1964 | Pierre Werner | |||
| Marcel Fischbach | CSV | 15 July 1964 | 3 January 1967 | ||||
| Pierre Grégoire | CSV | 3 January 1967 | 6 February 1969 | ||||
| Eugène Schaus | DP | 6 February 1969 | 15 June 1974 | ||||
| Émile Krieps | DP | 15 June 1974 | 16 July 1979 | Gaston Thorn | |||
| 16 July 1979 | 20 July 1984 | Pierre Werner | |||||
| Marc Fischbach | CSV | 20 July 1984 | 14 July 1989 | Jacques Santer | |||
| Jacques Poos | LSAP | 14 July 1989 | 13 July 1994 | ||||
| Alex Bodry | LSAP | 13 July 1994 | 26 January 1995 | ||||
| 26 January 1995 | 7 August 1999 | Jean-Claude Juncker | |||||
| Charles Goerens | DP | 7 August 1999 | 31 July 2004 | ||||
| Luc Frieden | CSV | 31 July 2004 | 22 February 2006 | ||||
| Jean-Louis Schiltz | CSV | 22 February 2006 | 23 July 2009 | ||||
| Jean-Marie Halsdorf | CSV | 23 July 2009 | 4 December 2013 | ||||
| Etienne Schneider | LSAP | 4 December 2013 | 5 December 2018 | Xavier Bettel | |||
| François Bausch | The Greens | 5 December 2018 | 17 November 2023 | ||||
| Yuriko Backes | DP | 17 November 2023 | Incumbent | Luc Frieden | |||