LUXEMBOURG: Gay PM Gets Married

Via Reuters:

Luxembourg's prime minister on Friday becomes the first serving leader in the European Union to marry someone of the same sex, and only the second worldwide -- and all in a tiny, mostly Catholic country often considered rather conservative. Xavier Bettel, 42, and his civil partner Gauthier Destenay are among the first gay men to exercise their right to wed since the Grand Duchy in January become the latest EU state to extend full rights to same-sex marriages. A lawyer who became mayor of the city of Luxembourg at 38, Bettel has long been open about his sexuality and plays down its significance. He notes that his coalition deputy is also gay. Five years ago, Johanna Sigurdardottir, then the prime minister of Iceland, became the first serving leader in the world to marry a same-sex partner.

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in eleven of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.)  Civil unions are legal in eight EU nations: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in nine EU nations: Bulgaria, Cyprus*, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

*A civil unions bill advanced in Cyprus last week.

LUXEMBOURG: Gay Marriages Begin

Via Luxemburger Wort:

Jean Paul Olinger and Henri Lorenzo Huber were the first same-sex couple to tie the knot in Luxembourg, with a new marriage law coming into force on January 1. Olinger and Huber, both in their 60s, are Differdange's trailblazers, also having been the commune's first couple to enter a registered partnership, a so-called PACS. Despite the public holiday on January 1, the Differdange town hall opened for the special occasion, with mayor Roberto Traversini officiating the ceremony. Elsewhere in the country, January wedding dates are also set, with two women to wed in Walferdange on Friday and the first same-sex ceremony in Luxembourg City scheduled for January 16, according to RTL. Luxembourg MPs earlier this approved a new marriage law, granting the right to marriage, as well as adoption rights, to same-sex couples.

(Tipped by JMG reader Lulu)

LUXEMBOURG: Legislature Approves Gay Marriage & Adoption In 56-4 Vote

The law goes into effect on January 1st, 2015. (Tipped by JMG reader Andrea)

Luxembourg Set To Approve Gay Marriage

Same-sex marriage will likely come to Luxembourg this summer after being delayed by a change in government.

Justice Minister Félix Braz announced the news this week, saying he hoped it would be finally made law after years of delays. Drawn up by the former government in 2010, the same-sex marriage draft law was due to be voted on late last year. But following a change of government in October, the vote was postponed. Same-sex couples have only been able to mark their union under a PACS – based on French civil unions – meaning they have less rights and are unable to jointly adopt children. Luxembourg’s LGBT group Rosa Lëtzebuerg Asbl welcomed the news, saying marriage will finally be for ‘all of us’. The group’s president Gabriele Schneider said they were ‘very happy’, saying they expected marriage equality to take years to pass.

The prime minister and deputy prime minster of Luxembourg are both openly gay.

Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel To Become World's Third Out Prime Minister

Luxembourg's Xavier Bettel is about to join Belgium's Elio Di Rupo as one of Europe's two currently serving out prime ministers. Via Buzzfeed:

Currently the Mayor of Luxembourg City, the 40-year old been formally designated as “formateur” by Grand Duke Henri, the country’s head of state. This means he’s in charge of forming a coalition government with the Greens and Socialists and if all goes to plan he’ll become Prime Minister within the next few weeks. Although Luxembourg is a tiny country of just 540,000 people it plays a major role in the European Union, meaning Bettel is likely to become a major figure in Brussels.

The world's first out national leader was former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, whose term ended earlier this year. Hit the link for Buzzfeed's interview with Bettel.