Party of the Right (Luxembourg)

The Party of the Right ( _lb. Rietspartei, _fr. Parti de la droite, _de. Rechtspartei), abbreviated to PD, was a political party in Luxembourg between 1914 and 1944. It was the direct predecessor of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), which has ruled Luxembourg for all but five years since. [Thewes (2003), pp. 9-10]

The conservative PD was founded in 1914 as a reaction to the formalisation of the other ideological alliances within the Chamber of Deputies. The Socialist Party formed in 1902, whilst the dominant Liberal League was founded in 1904. [Thewes (2003), p. 61] The PD benefited from the break-up of the Socialist-Liberal alliance after the death of Paul Eyschen, [Thewes (2003), p. 64] and soon became the dominant party, strengthened by the introduction of universal suffrage in 1918. [Thewes (2003), p. 78] The leader of the Party of the Right would serve as the Prime Minister from the end of the First World War until the start of the Second, except for a fourteen-month period in the mid-1920s. [Thewes (2003), pp. 9-10]

The three Prime Ministers from the Party of the Right were Émile Reuter (1918-1925), Joseph Bech (1926-1937), and Pierre Dupong (1937-1944); the latter two would go on to serve as Prime Minister as heads of the CSV. Its also notable that the PD cabinet of 1921-25 was the only cabinet in Luxembourgian history that included politicians of only one party. [Thewes (2003), pp. 77-78]

Footnotes

References

* cite book | last=Thewes | first=Guy | title=Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 | url=http://www.gouvernement.lu/publications/download/gouvernements_1848_2.pdf | format=PDF | accessdate=2006-11-09 | edition=Édition limitée | year=2003 | month=July | publisher=Service Information et Presse | location=Luxembourg City | id=ISBN 2-87999-118-8