Pierre Prüm
Encyclopedia
Pierre Prüm was a Luxembourg
ian politician
and jurist
. He was the 14th Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for a year, from March 20, 1925 until July 16, 1926.
, in the far north of the Grand Duchy, on 9 July 1886. His father, Emile Prüm, was a fervent Roman Catholic and a prominent conservative
politician, and this greatly affected his political outlook. He and his brother Emmanuel were sent to university at Leuven
, where he joined K.A.V. Lovania Leuven, a Catholic fraternity
.
While his brother became a priest
, Pierre trained as a lawyer
. Like his father, he sought political office, and entered politics himself, representing the canton
of Clervaux in the Chamber of Deputies
. As a conservative, he joined the Party of the Right
(PD) when it was founded, in 1914. However, Prüm left the Party of the Right in 1918 to form his own party, the Independent National Party
(PNI).
of the 1 March, the ruling Party of the Right lost its majority
in the Chamber of Deputies, winning only 22 of the 47 seats. Unwilling to form a coalition with any parties that had blocked its railway reforms, Prüm was invited to form a government, provided that he could form a majority coalition. Taking in an eclectic collection of Radical Socialists
and dissident conservatives, with the additional informal backing of the Socialist Party, Prüm's government took office on 20 March.
Prüm sought to improve relations with France
and Germany
, which had been alienated by the formation of the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
in 1921. On 9 October, Prüm negotiated a working arrangement on the coordination of iron production in France and Luxembourg. At the same time, the Locarno Treaties
were signed between seven European states (not including Luxembourg); the treaties confirmed the inviolability of the borders redrawn by the Treaty of Versailles
. These two arrangements would go a considerable distance towards calming the tensions over Luxembourg that had flared up during and after the First World War.
When the government turned its attention back to domestic affairs, it did not fare so well. The Socialist Party had supported Prüm throughout 1925, despite not being rewarded with a cabinet
position. As a mark of its debt to the Socialists, in May 1926, the government sought to introduce a bill
improving working conditions. The Liberals, who predominantly represented employers and the professional class, were angered, and withdrew their support for the government. Without a majority, Prüm tendered his resignation to Grand Duchess
Charlotte
on 22 June.
in Clervaux
, where he served for ten years. In the 1937 election
, Prüm was elected to the Chamber of Deputies once again, representing the Nord constituency
. When Nazi Germany
occupied Luxembourg
in 1940, he joined the pro-Nazi Society for German Literature and Art (GEDELIT).
After the war, he was prosecuted for collaborationism, and was sentenced on 28 November 1946 to four years imprisonment. He died on 1 February 1950 in Clervaux.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
ian politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
. He was the 14th Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for a year, from March 20, 1925 until July 16, 1926.
Early life
Prüm was born in TroisviergesTroisvierges
Troisvierges is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, in the canton of Clervaux. The two highest hills in Luxembourg, the Kneiff and Buurgplaatz , are located in the commune....
, in the far north of the Grand Duchy, on 9 July 1886. His father, Emile Prüm, was a fervent Roman Catholic and a prominent conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
politician, and this greatly affected his political outlook. He and his brother Emmanuel were sent to university at Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
, where he joined K.A.V. Lovania Leuven, a Catholic fraternity
Studentenverbindung
A Studentenverbindung is a student corporation in a German-speaking country somewhat comparable to fraternities in the US or Canada, but mostly older and going back to other kinds of...
.
While his brother became a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, Pierre trained as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. Like his father, he sought political office, and entered politics himself, representing the canton
Cantons of Luxembourg
||The districts of Luxembourg are divided into 12 cantons. These cantons are subdivided into 116 communes. The cantons, listed by district, include:Diekirch District*Clervaux *Diekirch *Redange *Vianden *Wiltz Grevenmacher District...
of Clervaux in the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg
The Chamber of Deputies , abbreviated to the Chamber, is the unicameral national legislature of Luxembourg. 'Krautmaart' is sometimes used as a metonym for the Chamber, after the square on which the Hôtel de la Chambre is located....
. As a conservative, he joined the Party of the Right
Party of the Right (Luxembourg)
The Party of the Right , 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 , which has ruled Luxembourg for all but five years since....
(PD) when it was founded, in 1914. However, Prüm left the Party of the Right in 1918 to form his own party, the Independent National Party
Independent National Party (Luxembourg)
The Independent National Party , abbreviated as PNI, was a populist political party in Luxembourg in the interwar period.The party was founded in 1918 by disgruntled members of the Party of the Right. The most prominent of the founders was Pierre Prüm, who was appointed the party's leader...
(PNI).
Government
In 1925, the PNI seized upon the inability of the PD government to pass railway reforms. In the legislative electionsLuxembourgian legislative election, 1925
Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 25 March 1925. Voters elected all 47 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...
of the 1 March, the ruling Party of the Right lost its majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
in the Chamber of Deputies, winning only 22 of the 47 seats. Unwilling to form a coalition with any parties that had blocked its railway reforms, Prüm was invited to form a government, provided that he could form a majority coalition. Taking in an eclectic collection of Radical Socialists
Radical Socialist Party (Luxembourg)
The Radical Socialist Party was a progressive Luxembourgian political party that existed from 1925 to 1932. It was the successor of the Liberal League, but, unlike its predecessor, it existed as an organised extra-parliamentary party, marking itself as Luxembourg's first true liberal political...
and dissident conservatives, with the additional informal backing of the Socialist Party, Prüm's government took office on 20 March.
Prüm sought to improve relations with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, which had been alienated by the formation of the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union , abbreviated to BLEU or UEBL, is an economic and monetary union between Belgium and Luxembourg, two countries in the Benelux economic union....
in 1921. On 9 October, Prüm negotiated a working arrangement on the coordination of iron production in France and Luxembourg. At the same time, the Locarno Treaties
Locarno Treaties
The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, on 5 October – 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 3 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of central and Eastern Europe sought to secure the post-war...
were signed between seven European states (not including Luxembourg); the treaties confirmed the inviolability of the borders redrawn by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. These two arrangements would go a considerable distance towards calming the tensions over Luxembourg that had flared up during and after the First World War.
When the government turned its attention back to domestic affairs, it did not fare so well. The Socialist Party had supported Prüm throughout 1925, despite not being rewarded with a cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
position. As a mark of its debt to the Socialists, in May 1926, the government sought to introduce a bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
improving working conditions. The Liberals, who predominantly represented employers and the professional class, were angered, and withdrew their support for the government. Without a majority, Prüm tendered his resignation to Grand Duchess
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the sovereign monarch and head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it was elevated from a duchy when placed in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
Charlotte
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg was the reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964.-Early life and life as Grand Duchess:...
on 22 June.
After the premiership
In 1926, Prüm became a justice of the peaceJustice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Clervaux
Clervaux
Clervaux is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux.-History:The city was the site of heavy fighting during World War II, in the December 1944 .-Population:...
, where he served for ten years. In the 1937 election
Luxembourgian legislative election, 1937
Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 6 June 1937. Voters elected 26 of the 55 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...
, Prüm was elected to the Chamber of Deputies once again, representing the Nord constituency
Circonscription Nord (Luxembourg)
Circonscription Nord is an electoral constituency for Luxembourg's national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.It includes the cantons of Clervaux, Diekirch, Redange, Vianden, and Wiltz. Its boundaries are coterminous with those of the district of Diekirch. , Nord has an estimated population of...
. When Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupied Luxembourg
German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II
The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II was the period in the history of Luxembourg after it was used as a transit territory to attack France by outflanking the Maginot Line. Plans for the attack had been prepared by 9 October 1939, but execution was postponed several times...
in 1940, he joined the pro-Nazi Society for German Literature and Art (GEDELIT).
After the war, he was prosecuted for collaborationism, and was sentenced on 28 November 1946 to four years imprisonment. He died on 1 February 1950 in Clervaux.