National Union Government (1945)

The National Union Government was a form of national government that governed the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg between 1945 and 13 February 1947, in the direct aftermath of the Second World War. During the war, Luxembourg was invaded, occupied, and annexed by Nazi Germany. Just one of the Luxembourgish casualties of the conflict was the pre-war political system; most of the established parties and alliances disappeared, and some of the leading politicians had lost their lives.

Background

After the liberation of the Grand Duchy in 1944, a temporary government comprising the CSV and the LSAP, dubbed the 'Liberation Government' , took office. No election had been held and no Chamber of Deputies was in place, so there was no need for this government to seek a broad-based legislative coalition.

However, after the war was concluded, Luxembourg returned to political chicanery. Legislative elections were held on 21 October 1945, and all four parties won over 5 seats and 10% of the vote each: the CSV, LSAP, GD, and KPL. However, the CSV came just short of an absolute majority, winning 25 seats out of 51.

Forming the government

Atypically, Grand Duchess Charlotte decided to intervene in the political sphere, and asked CSV leader Pierre Dupong (who had been Prime Minister since 1937) to form a broader based coalition than Dupong had organised behind his...
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