Gonderange

Joseph Bech was born on February 17, 1887 in Diekirch and died in 1975 in Luxembourg City. He was a Luxembourgian statesman and politician. Joseph Bech was known as one of the founding fathers of the European Community. In 1921, he was Minister of the Interior and Education, and in 1926, Minister of State. From 1937 to 1953, he was Foreign Minister. During the German occupation of Luxembourg during the Second World War, Joseph Bech, together with Pierre Krier, was part of the government in exile in London from 1940 to 1945, where he also signed the Benelux Treaty for Luxembourg in 1944. The NATO Treaty, signed on April 4, 1949 in Washington D.C., and the ECSC Treaty (European Coal and Steel Community), signed on April 18, 1951 in Paris, both bear his signature. From 1953 to 1958, Joseph Bech was the Minister of State for the CSV [Christlich-sozialen Volkspartei (Christian-Social People’s Party)] in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Afterwards, he served as Foreign Minister again (1958–1959). From 1959 to 1964, he was president of the Luxembourgian Chamber of Deputies. On May 26, 1964, he received the Charlemagne Prize.