Joseph Bech

Nationality

Luxembourg

Date of Birth

1887

Date of Death

1975

Political
Preference

Christian Democrat

Joseph Bech studied law in Fribourg and Paris. In June 1914 he was elected in the parliament of Luxembourg for the catholic Parti de la Droite.

From 1926 until 1958 he served as prime minister or minister of Foreign Affairs. During all these years he represented Luxembourg at critical junctures. First, in the League of Nations, chairing a Coordination Committee on Economic Relations. His government evacuated to London in 1940, where Bech became entangled in the milieu of European exiles. As foreign minister he became part of the Comité des Ministrès des Affaires Étrangères des Gouvernements alliés, which was created in 1942 due to the efforts on behalf of Polish Prime Minister Wladislaw Sikorski and his close confidant Joseph Retinger. He also negotiated the Benelux-treaty on behalf of his government in 1943. Finally, in 1955 he would represent Luxembourg in the negotiations for the Treaty of Rome.

From 1959 until 1964 he was member of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe.