Luxembourg PM’s Same-sex Husband Seated Next to Viktor Orbán at Summit

THE GUARDIAN: Hungarian leader was criticised by Xavier Bettel in 2021 for introducing homophobic law

Nato leaders’ spouses including Gauthier Destenay (centre), husband of Luxembourg’s PM, in Madrid. Photograph: Ballesteros/EPA
The dozens of invitees were carefully seated along the lengthy table, flanked by columns fashioned out of Bagnères marble and surrounded by paintings from Spain’s Francisco de Goya.

As photos of the Nato dinner at Spain’s royal palace filtered out, many were swift to spot what one Spanish news site described as the image of the summit: the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, seated next to Gauthier Destenay, the first same-sex spouse of a leader of an EU member state.

Amid speculation as to whether the seating arrangement was intentional – perhaps a nod to this month’s Pride celebrations – or whether it was simply the mysterious hand of protocol working its magic, Spain’s royal palace did not respond to a request for comment.

The eye-catching seating arrangement came one year after Destenay’s husband, Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, blasted Orbán over a Hungarian law banning any portrayal of LGBT people in materials meant for children.

“To be nationally blamed, to be considered as not normal, to be considered a danger for young people – it’s not realising that being gay is not a choice,” said Bettel, who in 2015 became the first EU leader to marry someone of the same sex.

“But being intolerant is a choice,” Bettel continued. » | Ashifa Kassam in Madrid | Thursday, June 30, 2022

Luxemburgs Regierungschef zieht nach Plagiatsvorwürfen Diplomarbeit zurück

Der luxemburgische Ministerpräsident Xavier Bettel hat seine Diplomarbeit wegen Plagiatsvorwürfen zurückgezogen. | Bild: GETTY
XAVIER BETTEL
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Laut Berichten sollen bis zu drei Viertel der Diplomarbeit des Juristen aus nicht zitierten Quellen stammen. Die Universität Lothringen hatte Bettel nach einer internen Untersuchung aufgefordert, seine Abschlussarbeit schnellstmöglich zu überarbeiten.

Der luxemburgische Ministerpräsident Xavier Bettel hat seine Diplomarbeit wegen Plagiatsvorwürfen zurückgezogen. Er habe die Universität Lothringen in Frankreich gebeten, seinen 1999 erworbenen Diplomabschluss zu annullieren, sagte Bettel am Dienstag. Damit wolle er „einen Vertrauensverlust in die akademische Arbeit vermeiden“. » | Quelle: AFP | Dienstag, 2. Februar 2022

Luxembourg Leader’s University Thesis Was ‘Mostly Plagiarised’

THE GUARDIAN: Prime minister Xavier Bettel admits postgraduate dissertation ‘should have been done differently’

Xavier Bettel said his thesis was ‘written with a clear conscience’ but an inquiry found just two of the work’s 56 pages had not been plagiarised. Photograph: Johanna Geron/EPA
Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, has admitted his university thesis “should have been done differently” after a media investigation concluded that only two of the work’s 56 pages had not been plagiarised.

A local news outlet, reporter.lu, said on Wednesday that Bettel had lifted three-quarters of the text, describing it as “an impressive hodgepodge of copied passages that does not meet the customary requirements of academia”.

Bettel, 48, who has been prime minister since 2013, said in a statement the thesis was “more than 20 years old” and “written with a clear conscience”. But “from today’s standpoint, it could have – yes, maybe should have – been done differently”, he said.

Bettel said he had full confidence in the University of Lorraine in eastern France to assess whether the work met its standards of the time, and that he would “naturally accept” its decision, even if it meant his qualification was withdrawn. » | Jon Henley | Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Luxemburgischer Premierminister gesteht Plagiate indirekt ein: Der luxemburgische Regierungschef hat bei seiner Abschlussarbeit an der Universität Nancy plagiiert. Heute würde er es anders machen, sagt Xavier Bettel. Folgt nun der Rücktritt? »

German politicians suffer higher degree of embarrassment from plagiarism than from sex scandals: Third minister in Angela Merkel’s administration falls foul of the country’s fixation on academic credentials »

Xavier Bettel’s Testimony – LGBTI Inclusion in the Workplace

avier Bettel’s testimony (Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) concerning LGBTI inclusion in the professional environment.

The project "LGBTI inclusion in the workplace" aims to raise awareness and provide tools to the company's different audiences to prevent discrimination against LGBTI employees. The testimonies from which this video is taken and multiple actors' contributions were used to construct a good practice guide to collect companies' inclusion ideas. Available on www.imslux.lu.

Project in collaboration with the Lëtzebuerg Diversity Charter, the Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region, and the European Social Fund.

En français :

Témoignage de Xavier Bettel (Premier Ministre du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg) concernant l’inclusion des personnes LGBTI dans le monde professionnel.

Le projet « LGBTI inclusion in the workplace » vise à sensibiliser mais également à outiller les différents publics au sein de l’entreprise pour prévenir toute situation de discrimination à l’encontre des collaborateurs ou collaboratrices LGBTI.

La série de témoignages, dont est issue cette vidéo, et les apports de multiples acteurs ont été utilisés dans la construction d’un guide de bonnes pratiques afin de recueillir des idées inspirantes d’actions inclusives. À retrouver sur www.imslux.lu

Projet en collaboration avec la Charte de la Diversité Lëtzebuerg, le Ministère de la Famille, de l’Intégration et à la Grande Région, et le Fonds Social Européen.


Related

Gay Wedding for Luxembourg: PM a First for [a] Serving EU Leader | 2015

May 16, 2015 • It is a marriage that will go down in the history books. The prime minister of Luxembourg has become the first serving leader in the European Union to marry someone of the same sex. Xavier Bettel tied the knot with his Belgian partner, architect Gauthier Destenay. A law allowing gay marriage came into force in Luxembourg in January. "I wish everyone to be as happy as I am," said the prime minister. "Thank you to the people of Luxembourg, thank you, and to everybody, I make no distinctions, … Read more here.

Xavier Bettel toujours hospitalisé, son état jugé “sérieux mais stable”

LE QUOTIDIEN : Le Premier ministre Xavier Bettel restait lundi hospitalisé en observation suite à son infection au Covid, en raison de la persistance des symptômes, a indiqué le ministère d’État dans l’après-midi.

Durant le week-end, les symptômes constatés (fièvre et maux de tête) ne se sont pas atténués, ce qui a mené le Premier ministre à être hospitalisé par précaution dimanche. Une saturation d’oxygène insuffisante a été diagnostiquée et Xavier Bettel est depuis placé sous surveillance médicale continue, précise le ministère d’État.

Actuellement, l’état de santé du Premier ministre “est jugé sérieux, mais stable”, soulignent ses services, ajoutant que le personnel soignant a de fait décidé qu’une hospitalisation reste actuellement nécessaire afin de pouvoir poursuivre l’observation, “ceci pour une durée estimée à 2-4 jours”. Selon l’un de ses collaborateurs, Xavier Bettel “a le souffle court mais n’est pas intubé”. » | LQ | lundi 5 juillet 2021

Raw Politics In Full: Brexit Disconnect

Tesa Arcilla is joined by politicians and journalists to discuss the major political issues that are defining and dividing Europe today.

Bettel's Anger Highlights a Bleak Truth: The EU27 Just Wants Britain to Go

THE GUARDIAN: Luxembourg PM’s exasperation is shared by EU officials and national leaders

It was, by any standards, an unusual spectacle: the leader of the European Union’s second-smallest country deciding to empty-chair the British prime minister at what was supposed to have been a joint press conference after their meeting.

Ostensibly, logistics were the problem: No 10 was concerned by the small but very noisy protest awaiting Boris Johnson outside; Luxembourg government officials said there was no room big enough to move the event inside.

Whatever the reason, the press conference that Xavier Bettel ended up giving alone – gesturing to the lectern where his counterpart should have stood – served as a striking symbol of EU leaders’ mounting frustration with the Brexit process.

The Luxembourg prime minister did not hold back. The leave campaign had been built on lies, he said. Johnson’s oft-repeated claims of progress in the talks were baseless. London had come up with nothing to replace the backstop.

Above all, the UK – not the EU – was to blame for the impasse. “I just want to repeat and remind that Theresa May accepted the withdrawal agreement,” he said. Britain’s “homemade” problems were causing “general problems” for the whole of the EU. » | Jon Henley | Monday, September 16, 2019

Xavier Bettel on Brexit, mocks Boris Johnson »

Incredible Sulk Morphs from Green to Yellow as He Is Bested by Bettel

THE GUARDIAN: PM implodes under weight of his own narcissism as Luxembourg leader lets rip

Exit the Incredible Sulk. It was bad enough getting owned on Twitter by the actor who played the Incredible Hulk – comparing yourself to a comic book hero with anger management issues was always asking for trouble when you’ve got form with the Camberwell police. Classic Dom.

But Boris Johnson’s day just got a whole lot worse when he was completely owned by about 50 unthreatening protesters – this was Luxembourg, where crime waves are measured in the number of people not paying parking fines – and Xavier Bettel, the country’s prime minister.

Faced with a handful of people shouting: “We don’t like you very much,” Johnson imploded under the weight of his own narcissism. The Incredible Bulk morphed from green to yellow and fled sobbing indoors. He’d been in some tricky situations before where the future of the world had been at risk from super-soldiers powered by gamma radiation. But nothing as dangerous as this.

He begged Bettel to move their joint press conference somewhere less noisy. Preferably somewhere no one would ask him any difficult questions. Bettel demurred. The lecterns were set up, the journalists were in place and he’d go ahead without him. Johnson was about to be humiliated by the second smallest country in the EU. Taking back control by losing control. Classic Dom. » | Johnn Crace | Monday, September 16, 2019

Johnson Humiliated by Luxembourg PM at 'Empty Chair' Press Conference

THE GUARDIAN: Xavier Bettel gesticulates at empty podium as British PM skips press conference amid loud protests

Boris Johnson has been left humiliated after being forced by anti-Brexit protesters to cancel an appearance at a press conference, leaving Luxembourg’s prime minister to lecture and gesticulate at an empty podium about the dangers of the UK prime minister playing politics with people’s lives.

Johnson was booed and jeered as he left a working lunch in Luxembourgwith the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, before being forced to abandon plans to speak alongside the country’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel.

The cancellation left Johnson scuttling past the waiting lecterns in a courtyard outside the prime minister’s office to chants by British protesters a few metres away.

Bettel did not mince his words as he took the lectern next to the one left empty by the British prime minister’s no-show, with the union flag still in position. » | Daniel Boffey in Luxembourg | Monday, September 16, 2019

Luxembourg PM Takes Arab Leaders to Task on Gay Rights at Summit

THE GUARDIAN: Xavier Bettel says his same-sex marriage would condemn him to death in some countries

Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, has confronted Arab leaders over the repression of gay rights, telling them his same-sex marriage would condemn him to death in some of their countries.

The conference room at a summit of EU and Arab states fell silent when Bettel made his statement, according to a German TV journalist.

Retweeting this account, Bettel wrote: “Saying nothing was not an option for me.” The tweet was signed with his initials.

Bettel, the first EU leader to be married to a same-sex partner, had planned to make the intervention before arriving at the summit, which was the first gathering between the EU and Arab League.

Homosexuality is punishable by death under sharia law in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. Other countries in the region prohibit same-sex acts, including Algeria, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Syria, Kuwait and some of the United Arab Emirates. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, February 28, 2019

Modern Duchy: Luxembourg Prime Minister Turns Tradition on Its Head

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is trying to reshape the Grand Duchy into a country as liberal as he is himself. He has introduced gay marriage and curbed the Catholic Church's once powerful influence over the country.

Xavier Bettel wears a golden wedding ring on the ring finger of his left hand. In his case, that's something that is certainly worth mentioning. Just three weeks ago, the 42-year-old prime minister of Luxembourg married his long-term partner, Gauthier Destanay of Belgium. "It was an obvious step for me -- we've been together for years," says Bettel. "I am happy to live in a country in which a large majority in parliament voted for same-sex marriage."

Prime Minister Bettel was able to marry thanks to a law that his government passed as one of its first acts. Prior to his election, as a member of the opposition, Bettel himself had experienced firsthand how deeply rooted anti-gay sentiment remains, including in Luxembourg. A state secretary from former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker's government called him "miss" during a debate in parliament.

Today, he's the prime minister of the Grand Duchy and the first and only male leader of a European Union government to have married a man. A year and a half ago, he replaced Juncker, who had lost power because of a secret service scandal. Juncker has since become president of the European Commission, but he left behind a difficult legacy for the unusual government coalition that replaced him, comprised of the business-friendly liberals, Social Democrats and Greens. » | Christoph Schult | Monday, June 08, 2015

WIKI: Xavier Bettel »