Saar Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Saar Treaty, or "Treaty of Luxembourg" (German
: Vertrag von Luxemburg) is an agreement between West Germany
and France
concerning the return of the Saarland
to West Germany. The treaty was signed in Luxemborg on October 27, 1956 by foreign ministers Heinrich von Brentano
of West Germany and Christian Pineau
of France, following a plebiscite on October 23, 1955 which resulted in a majority vote against the Saar Statute.
After the Landtag
declared to accede to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), the incorporation of the Saarland was finalised on January 1 1957. Both involved parties agreed on an economic transition period through 1959, during which the Saarland remained under French control.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Vertrag von Luxemburg) is an agreement between West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and 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...
concerning the return of the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
to West Germany. The treaty was signed in Luxemborg on October 27, 1956 by foreign ministers Heinrich von Brentano
Heinrich von Brentano
Heinrich von Brentano di Tremezzo was a German conservative politician and lawyer. He served as Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1955 to 1961.-Personal life:...
of West Germany and Christian Pineau
Christian Pineau
Christian Pineau was a noted French Resistance fighter.He was born in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France and died in Paris.His father-in-law was the writer Jean Giraudoux, who was married to Pineau's mother...
of France, following a plebiscite on October 23, 1955 which resulted in a majority vote against the Saar Statute.
After the Landtag
Landtag of Saarland
The Landtag of Saarland is the state diet of the German federal state of Saarland. It convenes in Saarbrücken and currently consists of 51 members of four Parties. Currently governed by the minority coalition of Christian Democratic Union and Free Democratic Party that holds only 24 seats, 2...
declared to accede to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), the incorporation of the Saarland was finalised on January 1 1957. Both involved parties agreed on an economic transition period through 1959, during which the Saarland remained under French control.