Pierre Prum
(9 July 1886 ? 1 February 1950) was a
Luxembourgish
politician and
jurist
. He was the 14th
prime minister of Luxembourg
, serving for a year, from 20 March 1925 until 16 July 1926.
Early life
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Prum was born in
Troisvierges
, in the far north of the Grand Duchy, on 9 July 1886.
[1]
His father,
Emile Prum
, was a fervent
Roman Catholic
and a prominent conservative politician,
[1]
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
.
[1]
[2]
As a conservative, he joined the
Party of the Right
(PD) when it was founded, in 1914. However, Prum left the Party of the Right in 1918 to form his own party, the
Independent National Party
(PNI).
[1]
[2]
Prime Minister
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Formation
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The Chamber of Deputies' rejection of the railway treaty with Belgium brought about the Reuter government's resignation.
[3]
As it was not possible for a new government majority to be formed, the Chamber was dissolved and new general elections were called for 1 March 1925.
[3]
The election saw various changes in the political landscape, as nine different political parties were henceforth represented in the Chamber.
[3]
The right lost its absolute majority, and held on to 22 out of 47.
[3]
But it refused to enter into coalition with any party that had voted against the railway treaty.
[3]
Pierre Prum, leader of the Independent National Party, was asked to form a new government, and relied on an eclectic alliance of liberals, socialists, some Deputies on the right.
[3]
Foreign policy
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At the risk of provoking a break-up of the
UEBL
, Pierre Prum sought a rapprochement with France.
[4]
When he had only just taken office, the prime minister was received in Paris.
[4]
On 9 October 1925, an agreement was reached with the Direction Generale des Chemins de fer d’Alsace et de Lorraine.
[4]
This agreement gave France the provisional right to the
Guillaume-Luxembourg
network.
[4]
During the Prum government's time in office, the
Locarno Treaties
were also signed.
[4]
Although they came about without Luxembourgish participation, they marked an important date in the evolution of the Grand Duchy's defence policy.
[4]
The fact that France and Germany guaranteed the inviolability of national borders, and agreed not to use war, consolidated Luxembourg's international situation.
[4]
Pierre Prum made use of Locarno Treaties' possibilities for international arbitration, to start talks with the Belgian and French governments.
[4]
These would only conclude under the next government.
[4]
Social policy
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Although the Socialist Party was not directly represented in the government, it constituted the Prum government's main support, alongside the Independent National Party.
[5]
Under the impetus of the socialists, the government took a number of social measures.
[5]
One of its first acts was to re-establish the workers' delegations, in factories with over 20 workers.
[5]
However, the bill on workers' holidays, which was debated in the Chamber from May 1926, divided the liberals and socialists.
[5]
As it no longer had a parliamentary majority, the Prum government resigned on 15 July 1926.
[5]
Government
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In 1925, the PNI seized upon the inability of the PD government to pass railway reforms.
[3]
In the
legislative elections
of 1 March, the ruling Party of the Right lost its
majority
in the Chamber of Deputies, winning only 22 of the 47 seats.
[3]
Unwilling to form a coalition with any parties that had blocked its railway reforms, Prum 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
, Prum's government took office on 20 March.
[3]
Prum 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, Prum negotiated a working arrangement on the co-ordination of iron production in France and Luxembourg.
[4]
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
.
[4]
When the government turned its attention back to domestic affairs, it did not fare so well. The Socialist Party had supported Prum 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
.
[5]
The Liberals, who predominantly represented employers and the
professional class
, were angered, and withdrew their support for the government. Without a majority, Prum tendered his resignation to
Grand Duchess
Charlotte
on 22 June.
[5]
Later life
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In 1926, Prum became a
justice of the peace
in
Clervaux
, where he served for ten years.
[1]
[2]
In the
1937 election
, Prum was elected to the Chamber of Deputies once again, representing the
Nord constituency
.
[1]
[2]
When
Nazi Germany
occupied Luxembourg
in 1940, he left the pro-Nazi
Society for German Literature and Art
(GEDELIT).
[1]
[2]
After the war, he was prosecuted for
collaborationism
, and was sentenced on 28 November 1946 to four years imprisonment.
[1]
He died on 1 February 1950 in Clervaux.
[1]
[2]
References
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