Santer-Poos III Government

The Santer-Poos III Government was the government of Luxembourg between 13 July 1994 and 26 January 1995. It was the third of three led by, and named after, Prime Minister Jacques Santer. Throughout the ministry, the Deputy Prime Minister was Jacques Poos.

Jacques Poos (left) and Jacques Santer (right) in 1989

It was formed following the general election of 1994. It represented a coalition between Santer's Christian Social People's Party (CSV) and Poos' Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), which had once more been elected the largest and second-largest parties in the legislature.

Ministers

Name		Party	Office
	Jacques Santer	CSV	Prime Minister Minister for the Treasury Minister for Cultural Affairs
	Jacques Poos	LSAP	Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Cooperation
	Fernand Boden	CSV	Minister for the Family and Solidarity Minister for the Middle Class and Tourism Minister for the Civil Service
	Jean Spautz	CSV	Minister for the Interior Minister for Housing
	Jean-Claude Juncker	LSAP	Minister for Finances Minister for Work
	Marc Fischbach	CSV	Minister for National Education and Scientific Research Minister for Justice
	Johny Lahure	LSAP	Minister for Health Minister for the Environment
	Robert Goebbels	LSAP	Minister for the Economy Minister for Public Works Minister for Energy
	Alex Bodry	LSAP	Minister for Planning Minister for the Police Force Minister for Physical Education and Sport Minister for Youth
	Marie-Josée Jacobs	CSV	Minister for Agriculture, Viticulture, and Rural Development Minister-Delegate for Cultural Affairs
	Mady Delvaux-Stehres	LSAP	Minister for Social Security Minister for Transport Minister for Communications
	Georges Wohlfart	LSAP	Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Cooperation
Source: Service Information et Presse

Formation

At the general election of 12 June 1994, the CSV and the LSAP remained the two strongest parties and received 21 and 17 seats respectively. The third-placed party, the Democratic Party, received only 12 Deputies in the new Chamber. The Greens (Déi Gréng GLEI/GAP) and the "action committee" ADR (Aktiounskomitee fir Demokratie a Rentegerechtegkeet) each received five representatives in the parliament. The CSV and LSAP decided to continue their coalition: the Santer-Poos partnership entered its third legislative period.

The government was later reshuffled after Jacques Santer was appointed president of the European Commission on 23 January 1995. The European Council of heads of state and of government, in Brussels on 15 July 1994, had designated the Luxembourgish Prime Minister to this post to succeed Jacques Delors.

Foreign policy

The government's policy was marked by the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty and the enlargement and deepening of the European Union. It aimed to reaffirm Luxembourg's place in a united Europe that was respectful of differences. Luxembourg wanted to be a full partner, while preserving its identity and specificity.

Domestic policy

Domestically, the government was faced with a considerable need for public investments, especially with regards to roads, schools infrastructure, the hospital sector and refuse collection and waste-water infrastructure. The key points of government action were, apart from improvement of infrastructure, educational reform, environmental protection, the modernisation of public administration as well as family policy and social security.

References

• Thewes, Guy (2011). Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 [The governments of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg since 1848] (PDF) (in French). Service Information et Presse. pp. 218–221. ISBN 978-2-87999-212-9. Archived 2014-07-07 at the Wayback Machine