(L-R) Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg; Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany; Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Elke Büdenbender, First Lady of Germany;
Credit: © Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue
At the invitation of the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, are paying an official visit to Luxembourg on Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 July 2023.
According to the Luxembourg Government, this visit pays tribute to the two countries' "close" and "friendly" bilateral relations.
On Monday morning, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa held an official ceremony in front of the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg-Ville to welcome the German presidential couple. This was followed by a one-on-one meeting, during which the German President received the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, i.e. the highest Luxembourg decoration.
Subsequently, the presidential couple attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Monument of Solidarity, in the presence of Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, among others.
The visit continued with a guided tour of a new exhibition at the Luxembourg National Archives dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the Luxembourg revolution and constitution of 1848: "1848 - Revolutioun zu Lëtzebuerg". Note that an updated Constitution of Luxembourg came into force on 1 July 2023. The guided tour was followed by a visit to the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg's parliament) and a meeting with members of the youth parliament to address subjects such as artificial intelligence (AI), democracy and the environment.
The presidential couple also visited a new exhibition about the history of misogyny ("On Rape") at the Abbaye de Neumünster (neimënster), before meeting Luxembourg firefighters and other rescue workers.
Also on the agenda was a lunch, hosted by Prime Minister Bettel in honour of the German presidential couple, and a visit to City Hall where the College of the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Luxembourg welcomed the German President and First Lady.
On Monday evening, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxmebourg held a dinner at the Grand Ducal Palace in honour of the German presidential couple.
The official visit will continue on Tuesday with a visit to the birthplace of Robert Schuman in Luxembourg-Clausen, as well as to the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB). A visit to Esch-Belval and a discussion with professors, students and researchers at the University of Luxembourg will conclude the official programme.
