Minister of Labour and Employment
Minister for Culture, Higher Education and Research
Minister for Religious Communities

François Biltgen was born on 28 September 1958. He resides in Esch-sur-Alzette. He is married and has two children.

François Biltgen studied law at the Université de Paris. He obtained a Master’s in Law and also a DEA postgraduate certificate in Community Law and Political Sciences at the Paris Institut d’études politiques.

Shortly after obtaining his qualifications, he accepted the position of secretary of the parliamentary group of the Christian Social Party (Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei / CSV) in 1983, where he succeeded Jean-Claude Juncker.

In 1987, François Biltgen was elected onto the Esch-sur-Alzette town council. In 1997, he acted as deputy mayor, in charge of finance and social affairs. In the 1994 general elections, François Biltgen was elected to the Chamber of Deputies.

At the age of 36, after being elected Deputy, he resumed his studies and passed his final exam after legal training. Shortly afterwards, he embarked on a career as a lawyer in Esch-sur-Alzette.

Between 1994 and 1999, François Biltgen made a name for himself as a parliamentary rapporteur on a number of bills, notably in the field of labour and institutional law. Throughout this period, François Biltgen was also the author of scientific and general contributions on a number of legal issues.

Between 1999 and 2004, François Biltgen assumed the responsibilities of Minister of Labour and Employment, Minister for Relations with Parliament, Minister for Religious Communities and also Minister in charge of Communications. In this last capacity, he was also responsible for the e-Luxembourg plan.

In particular, he successfully saw through the new laws on collective labour relations and on the freedom of expression in the media.

On 18 January 2003, he was elected Chairman of the Christian Social Party.

Following the elections on 13 June 2004 and the great success of the Christian Social Party, François Biltgen was reappointed on 31 July 2004 to his duties as Minister of Labour and Employment and Minister for Religious Communities, and found himself entrusted with the duties of Minister for Culture, Higher Education and Research.