Elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Social People's Party in 1984, Juncker was immediately promoted to Jacques Santer's cabinet as Minister for Work. He was Luxembourg's Minister for Finances from 1989 to 2009, and became Prime Minister when Santer became President of the European Commission in 1995. In his capacity of Prime Minister, he also served two six-month terms as President of the European Council, in 1997 and 2005.
Early life and education
Juncker was born in Redange and spent most of his childhood in Belvaux. His father had fought in World War II after being forcibly recruited into the Wehrmacht, and was a steelworker and a member of the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions. Juncker studied at Clairefontaine in Belgium before returning to Luxembourg to attain his baccalaureate in the Lycée Michel Rodange. Around that time, in 1974, he joined the Christian Social People's Party. Juncker went on to study law at the University of Strasbourg, attaining a Master of Law degree in 1979. Although he was sworn into the Luxembourg Bar Council in 1980, he never practised as a lawyer.
Early political career
Juncker returned to Luxembourg, and his oratorical skills earned him a promotion to the position of Parliamentary Secretary. He earned election to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg for the first time in 1984 and immediately took the office of Minister for Labour under Jacques Santer. This led to a chairpersons' role at a number of meetings of the Council of the European Communities, where Juncker's pro-Europe credentials first emerged.
Shortly before the 1989 election, Juncker was seriously injured in a road traffic accident, spending two weeks in a coma. He nonetheless recovered in time to be returned to the Chamber of Deputies once more, picking up the Finance portfolio along with his Ministry of Labour post. The Ministry of Finance post is traditionally seen as a rite of passage to the premiership of the country, and his eventual promotion to Prime Minister seemed at this time inevitable, with political commentators concluding that Santer was grooming Juncker as his heir. Juncker at this time accepted the position of Governor of the World Bank.
Ascent to premiership
Juncker's second election to Parliament saw him gain prominence in the European Union. Juncker chaired the Council of Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN), becoming a key architect of the Maastricht Treaty. Juncker was largely responsible for clauses on economic and monetary union (the process that would eventually give rise to the Euro) and was himself a signatory to the treaty in 1992, by which time he had taken over as parliamentary leader of the Christian Social People's Party.
Juncker was re-elected to the Chamber in 1994, maintaining both his ministerial roles. With Jacques Santer ready to be nominated as the next President of the European Commission, it was only six months later, on 20 January 1995, that Grand Duke Jean approved the appointment of Juncker as Prime Minister, as part of a coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party. Juncker relinquished his post at the World Bank at this time (swapping it for governorship of the International Monetary Fund) but maintained his previous ministerial positions; he was now the Minister of State, of Labour and Employment and of the Treasury.
Following the legislative elections of June 1989, Jean-Claude Juncker was appointed Minister of Finance, Minister of Labour, thus entering a new chapter of his political career.
In 1991, as incumbent president of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, Jean-Claude Juncker became one of the principal architects of the Maastricht Treaty, in particular of the section on the economic and monetary union of which he drafted large parts himself. In May of the same year, during an informal meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the twelve member states in Luxembourg, economic and monetary union negotiations reached fruition thanks to Jean-Claude Juncker’s intervention, which consisted in creating the opting out principle for the United Kingdom. In February 1992, he was one of the signatories of the Maastricht Treaty.
In June 1994, Jean-Claude Juncker was re-elected to Parliament and retained his Minister of Finance, Minister of Labour portfolios. On 20 January 1995, following the nomination of Prime Minister Jacques Santer as president of the European Commission by the European Council and the subsequent approval of this appointment by the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker was appointed Prime Minister, Minister of State. As head of the government, he continued to fulfil his functions as Minister of Finance, Minister of Labour and Employment.
In his position as head of government, Jean-Claude Juncker broke new ground by playing a more prominent part in promoting Luxembourg abroad. He has represented Luxembourg on numerous official and work-related visits throughout the world, often accompanied by an important economic delegation. At his instigation, political and economic ties with numerous countries were strengthened. Particular importance was assigned to development cooperation with Luxembourg’s target countries. From 2001, with expenditures totalling 0.8% of its GDP, Luxembourg has ranked among the top five most involved countries in terms of development cooperation.
In December 1996, as a result of his successful and delicate mediating between the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the French President Jacques Chirac on the subject of the Stability Pact accompanying the economic and monetary union, the international press dubbed Jean-Claude Juncker "the hero of Dublin".
Luxembourg’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 1997 provided Jean-Claude Juncker with the opportunity to highlight his ambitions for a more social Europe. In November 1997, the Extraordinary European Council on Employment saw the creation of the "Luxembourg Process", requiring member states to submit an annual action plan promoting employment and to meet quantified and verifiable criteria in the context of job creation and the fight against unemployment.
One month later, at the European Council of Luxembourg, the European Union opened its doors to the enlargement to the East. The same summit was witness to the creation of Euro 11, the informal group of Ministers of Finance involved in the economic and monetary union, since renamed Eurogroup.
Following the legislative elections of June 1999, Jean-Claude Juncker was appointed Prime Minister, Minister of State of a government composed of members of the CSV and the Democratic Party (DP), thus putting an end to 15 years of governmental coalition between the CSV and the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP). Jean-Claude Juncker retained his Finance portfolio.
On 31 July 2004, Jean-Claude Juncker was reappointed Prime Minister, Minister of State, Minister of Finance in the CSV-LSAP coalition government as a result of the legislative elections of 13 June 2004, in which he obtained record personal votes.
Since 1 January 2005, Jean-Claude Juncker has also been the first permanent president of the Eurogroup, which brings together the Ministers of Finance of the member states of the euro area.
During the first six months of 2005, Luxembourg’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union allowed Jean-Claude Juncker to secure an agreement at the March 2005 European Council on a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, an agreement that did not affect the pact’s fundamental principles. During this summit, Jean-Claude Juncker also succeeded in reviving the Lisbon Strategy, in a bid to reaffirm its social and environmental dimensions.
Upon the return of the CSV-LSAP government coalition as a result of the legislative elections of 7 June 2009, Jean-Claude Juncker was once again appointed Prime Minister, Minister of State, as well as Minister for the Treasury on 23 July 2009.
Other political posts
A member of the CSV since 1974, Jean-Claude Juncker was parliamentary secretary of the group from October 1979 to December 1982.
Between January 1990 and February 1995, he was also appointed chairman of the CSV.
After his term as governor of the World Bank from 1989 to 1995, Jean-Claude Juncker assumed the role of governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that of governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Awards and distinctions
A number of international universities have bestowed upon Jean-Claude Juncker the title of doctor honoris causa: the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Münster (6 July 2001), the University of Bucharest (13 April 2003), the Democritus University of Thrace (27 January 2004), the University Robert Schuman of Strasbourg (25 October 2007), the University of Pittsburgh (10 April 2008), the Innsbruck Medical University (15 November 2010) and the Faculty of Law of the University of Athens (8 February 2011).
Jean-Claude Juncker has also been the recipient of several international decorations: he was awarded the insignia of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour by the president of the French Republic on 5 February 2002 and was made an honorary citizen of the city of Trier ("Ehrenbürger der Stadt Trier") on 27 May 2003.
In recognition of his commitment to the European cause, Jean-Claude Juncker has been presented with a number of important international political awards, among them the prestigious Charlemagne Prize of Aachen in 2006.
On 12 March 2007, Jean-Claude Juncker was admitted as a foreign associate member to the Academy of Ethics and Political Science of the Institute of France, filling the chair left vacant by the death of Léopold Sédar Senghor.
Since 20 December 2007, Jean-Claude Juncker has been honorary member of the Institut grand-ducal, Ethics and Political Section.
On 16 February 2009, the Prime Minister was made honorary senator of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
All about: Luxembourg, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, David Cameron. Silvio Berlusconi
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