Joseph Bech

Infobox_Prime Minister
name = Joseph Bech
nationality = Luxembourgian

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|200px|Statue of Joseph Bech
order = 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg
17th Prime Minister of Luxembourg
term_start = 16 July 1926
term_end = 5 November 1937
29 December 1953 – 29 March 1958
vicepresident =
predecessor = (1) Pierre Prüm
(2) Pierre Dupong
successor = (1) Pierre Dupong
(2) Pierre Frieden
birth_date = 1887-02-17
birth_place = Diekirch
death_date = 1975-03-08 (aged 88)
death_place = Luxembourg City
party = (1) Party of the Right
(2) Christian Social People's Party
spouse =
religion = Roman Catholic
order2 =
term_start2 =
term_end2 =
president =
predecessor2 =
successor2 =|

Joseph Bech (17 February 1887 – 8 March 1975) was a Luxembourgian politician. He was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for eleven years, from 16 July 1926 until 5 November 1937. He returned to the position after World War II, becoming the seventeenth Prime Minister, serving for another four years, from 29 December 1953 until 29 March 1958.

Bech studied Law at Freiburg and Paris, before qualifying as a lawyer in 1914. The same year, on 30 June, he was elected to the Luxembourgian Chamber of Deputies for the newly-founded Party of the Right, representing the canton of Grevenmacher.

On 15 April 1921, Bech was appointed to Émile Reuter's cabinet, holding the positions of Director-General for the Interior and Director-General for Education. In 1925, Bech lost these positions, as the Party of the Right's was edged out of government by a coalition of all other parties, who formed the government under Pierre Prüm.

When Prüm's coalition collapsed, in 1926, Bech became Prime Minister, which he remained until 1937.

Bech is considered to be one of the 'Founding Fathers' of the European Community. [cite journal | author=Dumont, Patrick and Hirsh, Mario | title=Luxembourg | journal=European Journal of Political Research | year=2003 | volume=42 | issue=7-8 | pages=1021 | url= | doi=10.1111/j.0304-4130.2003.00129.x ] . He was one of the participants of the Messina Conference in 1955, which would lead to the Treaty of Rome in 1957.

References

s-ttl|title=Director-General for Justice
years=1923 – 1925
-s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Luxembourg
1st time
years=1926 – 1937
-s-ttl|title=Minister for Foreign Affairs
years=1926 – 1959
-s-ttl|title=Minister for Defence
years=1951 – 1953
-s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Luxembourg
2nd time
years=1953 – 1958
-s-ttl|title=President of the Chamber of Deputies
years=1959 – 1964