1945 Luxembourg general election explained

Country:Luxembourg
Previous Election:1937
Next Election:1948
Election Date:21 October 1945
Election Name:1945 Luxembourg general election
Seats For Election:51 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
Majority Seats:26
First Election:yes
Ongoing:no
Party1:Christian Social People's Party
Leader1:Émile Reuter
Percentage1:41.41
Seats1:25
Party2:Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party
Leader2:Michel Rasquin
Percentage2:25.97
Seats2:11
Party3:PDG
Percentage3:16.74
Seats3:9
Party4:Communist Party of Luxembourg
Percentage4:13.49
Seats4:5
Party5:Party of Independents of the East
Leader5:Othon Decker
Percentage5:0.64
Seats5:1
Prime Minister
Before Election:Pierre Dupong
Before Party:CSV
After Election:Pierre Dupong
After Party:CSV

General elections were held in Luxembourg on 21 October 1945.[1] They were the first elections held after the German occupation during World War II. As a result of the war, the political alliances of the interwar period had been ended. In their place were new parties; the Christian Social People's Party, the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, and the Patriotic and Democratic Group in place of the Party of the Right, Socialist Party, and Radical Liberal Party respectively. It is regarded as a realigning election, as the election established the party political order, with four established parties, that would be maintained until 1974.

The conservatives remained the dominant faction, and the Christian Social People's Party's leader, Pierre Dupong, was invited to head another government. The election was also a success for both liberal and communist candidates, with both the Patriotic and Democratic Group and the Communist Party gaining four more seats than in the last election before the war. To restore political stability, Grand Duchess Charlotte asked Dupong to create a more broad-based coalition than the preceding Liberation Government. The resulting National Union Government would embrace all four political parties, and also include the solitary independent, guaranteeing the support of the whole Chamber of Deputies. The government remained in place until 1947.

Notes and References

  1. [Dieter Nohlen]