Who runs Luxembourg, from prime minister to parliament

The short answer to who runs Luxembourg is Luc Frieden. He has been prime minister since November 2023, leading a coalition between his Christian Social People’s Party and the Democratic Party. The longer answer has a few more layers, and some will feel familiar from home. There’s a monarch who reigns but doesn’t rule, a single-chamber parliament where voting is compulsory, and a Council of State that can slow a law down. None of it matters for enjoying a weekend, but it explains a lot of what you walk past in the upper town.

The prime minister and his team

Luc Frieden of the CSV heads the government formed after the general election of 8 October 2023, sworn in on 17 November that year. His partner is the Democratic Party, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister is Xavier Bettel of the DP. The full line-up is on the government’s website, which I checked on 29 September 2026.

Three portfolios touch visitors directly. Lex Delles is Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism. Eric Thill holds Culture and is also Minister Delegate for Tourism. And Yuriko Backes is Minister of Mobility and Public Works, the department behind free public transport.

President or Grand Duke?

The question comes up constantly. Luxembourg has no president. The state is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy, and Grand Duke Guillaume has been on the throne since 3 October 2025. He promulgates laws, but a minister has to countersign everything he does, and neutrality is part of the job. Much like the British monarch, in other words, though with a written constitution. Who he is and how he got there is in Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

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Sixty seats and compulsory voting

Parliament has one chamber. Its 60 deputies are elected every five years by direct universal suffrage and proportional representation, across four constituencies. The South elects 23, the Centre 21, the North 9 and the East 7. Voting is compulsory, and universal suffrage dates from 1919. In 2023 almost 90% of registered voters turned out, a figure any British returning officer would envy.

After that election the CSV holds 21 seats, the DP 14, the socialist LSAP 12, the ADR 5, the Greens 4, the Pirates 2 and the Left 2, which gives the government 35 of 60. The Speaker is Claude Wiseler of the CSV, and the official portal says the post is often described as the country’s «first citizen».

One mechanism I particularly like is the public petition. Any resident can start one, and if it collects 5,500 valid signatures within six weeks it’s debated in a session streamed live, with deputies and ministers. The Chamber sits on the Krautmaart, on the Marché-aux-Herbes, in a building joined to the Grand Ducal Palace, and its sessions are generally public.

The Council of State and the 2023 constitution

There’s no upper house, but there is a brake. The Council of State, created by the constitutional revision of 1856, has 21 members on 12-year terms. It must give an opinion on every bill and holds a suspensive veto, because the constitution requires a second vote in the Chamber at least three months after the first. In practice the Chamber usually asks to be excused that second vote, and it’s granted when there are no formal objections. The route a bill takes is worth knowing too. It goes to one or more parliamentary committees, a rapporteur is appointed, the professional chambers and the Council of State give their opinions, and only then is it debated in public session, where five deputies are enough to table an amendment.

A deep revision produced the constitution in force today, applicable from 1 July 2023. Its changes include naming Luxembourgish as the country’s language, which I cover in Luxembourgish language, and allowing the Grand Duke and government to adopt regulations to apply EU law.

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Local councils and Brussels

Below the state are 100 communes, which next vote in 2029. Above it sits Europe. Luxembourg elects 6 MEPs in a single national constituency, Christophe Hansen sits on the European Commission for Luxembourg, with the Agriculture and Food portfolio, and the capital shares the EU’s seats with Brussels and Strasbourg. The parts open to visitors are in EU institutions in Luxembourg.

The next general election is due in October 2028. Until then, barring surprises, this is Frieden’s government, and I’ll update this page when that changes.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Luxembourg on GetYourGuide.

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Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Luxembourg: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.