Adenauer Konrad, ARBED, BLEU, BENELUX, Beyen Johan Willem, Bodson Victor, Brussels, Charlemagne Prize, Christian Democracy, Dupong Pierre, ECSC, EDC, EEC, Euratom, Eyschen Paul, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Krier Antoine, League of Nations, Luxembourg, Marshal
Abstract :
[en] Joseph Bech (1887-1975) was a Luxembourg statesman and leading figure of the Christian Social Right, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1926-1958), President of the Government (1926-1937 and 1953-1958) and President of the Chamber of Deputies (1959-1964). A keen observer of the geopolitics of his time, a shrewd politician who worked for decades at the pinnacle of power, driven by both his patriotism for Luxembourg and internationalism, Bech skilfully manoeuvred before,
during and after the Second World War to preserve his country's independence and defend the vital interests of a small state, on an equal footing with the major powers in a synergistic whole. Opinions remain divided on Bech's political positions in the 1930s, when, invoking the perpetual neutrality of the Luxembourg state (under the London Conference of 1867), he attempted to impose an authoritarian regime on the country. For his role in building contemporary Western multilateralism and European unification, for which he was awarded the Charlemagne Prize (1960), historiography ranks Bech, an outstanding diplomat and statesman, among the "founding fathers of Europe" alongside Konrad Adenauer (Germany), Paul Henri Spaak (Belgium), Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman (France), Alcide de Gasperi (Italy) and Johan Willem Beyen (Netherlands).
Research center :
Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) > Contemporary European History (EHI)
Precision for document type :
Critical notes/Edition
Disciplines :
History Arts & humanities: Multidisciplinary, general & others General economics & history of economic thought Political science, public administration & international relations European & international law
Author, co-author :
DANESCU, Elena ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) > Contemporary European History
Sold, Alvin; Unilu - University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History, EHI > PhD Candidate
External co-authors :
yes
Language :
English
Title :
Joseph Bech
Original title :
[en] Joseph Bech
Publication date :
31 December 2025
Main work title :
Routledge Online Research Encyclopaedia for European Studies
Main work alternative title :
[fr] Encyclopédie de recherche en ligne Routledge pour les études européennes
Author, co-author :
Pittoors, Gilles; KU Leuven - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven > Faculty of Social Sciences ; European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) > European Parliament History Service
Publisher :
Routledge Publisher (Taylor and Francis Group), London, United Kingdom
Collection name :
Routledge Resources Online
Pages :
7
Peer reviewed :
Peer reviewed
Development Goals :
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions 17. Partnerships for the goals
Name of the research project :
Routledge Online Research Encyclopaedia in European Studies
Routledge is the world's leading academic publisher in the Humanities and Social Sciences which publishing program encompasses groundbreaking textbooks and premier, peer-reviewed research in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Built Environment, Education and Behavioral Sciences
Commentary :
The Routledge Encyclopaedia for European Studies, in collaboration with the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES), is a comprehensive, user-friendly, and interdisciplinary companion to European Studies. It represents a flexible and dynamic alternative to textbooks for both teaching and research purposes, with contributions from a global, interdisciplinary team of academic experts, and is enriched by value-adding visualisations and multimedia. An enhanced research and learning experience tool for students and scholars, and fully cross-referenced and interlinked, it permits greater discoverability between fields, traverses and connects the major disciplines, topics, or sections, and is relevant to a wide range of scholars and students working in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Offering top-quality entries, rigorously peer-reviewed and updated and expanded twice a year, it is a primary, organic, digital resource for the field.
