Xavier Bettel

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Xavier Bettel is a Luxembourgish lawyer and politician who serves as Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg and as the Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2023.

Born on March 3, 1973, in the Luxembourg City district of Bonnevoie, Bettel grew up in Roeser. He is Russian Orthodox and has Polish-Jewish ancestry through his mother's side, while his parents were Catholics. His maternal grandmother was a granddaughter of Arkady Rachmaninov, younger brother of the renowned Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Bettel joined the Democratic Party (DP) at the age of 15 in 1988 and became president of the party's youth wing in 1993. He made history as the youngest deputy to parliament at that time when he was just 26 years old, a position he held by the time of the 2004 general election.

In 2011, Bettel won the mayoral elections for Luxembourg City and took office two years later as Chair of the DP. The early parliamentary elections in October 2013 showed a significant increase in the DP's popularity, leading to negotiations with other parties that resulted in his appointment as Prime Minister. He formed an 18-member government, where he also served as Minister of Culture.

Bettel was Luxembourg's first openly gay Prime Minister and has been instrumental in promoting LGBTQ+ rights within the country. In July 2021, he contracted COVID-19 but made a full recovery after being discharged from hospital on August 8, 2021.

As Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bettel continues to play a crucial role in Luxembourg's politics and international relations.