Saturday 16 May 2015

Luxembourg Prime Minister Becomes First EU Leader To Marry Same-Sex Partner

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Luxembourg Prime Minister Becomes First EU Leader To Marry Same-Sex Partner

May 15, 2015 1:53 PM ET


Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, right, puts his arm around his partner Gauthier Destenay as they leave the town hall after their marriage in Luxembourg on Friday.
Charles Caratini/AP
Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel married his partner Gauthier Destenay on Friday, becoming the first European Union leader to enter a gay marriage.

Teri Schultz tells our Newscast unit that Bettel becomes the second world leader to do so. Iceland's Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir married her partner five years ago.

The interesting part about this development is that gay marriage is a relatively new thing in Luxembourg. As The Guardian reports, Bettel's party won a prominent spot in the ruling coalition after campaigning for same-sex marriage

The Guardian adds:
"[Same-sex marriage] was previously knocked down in 2007 by the then ruling Christian People's party, but a poll in 2013 found 83% of Luxembourgers supported a change in the law.

"Little is known about Destenay, who works for the Belgian-Luxembourger architecture firm A3. He has appeared alongside Bettel at a number of official events, including the royal wedding of Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie in 2012.

"What is known is that it was Destenay who proposed, reportedly asking for Bettel's hand just weeks after Luxembourg's parliament last July became the ninth EU legislature to lift a ban on gay marriages."
The BBC adds:
"Former Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo was the EU's first openly gay national leader.

"The Luxembourg newly-weds are not expected to go away on a honeymoon, as the PM has to attend an economic forum in Kazakhstan, according to AFP news agency.

"A friend of the couple told the French news agency Mr Bettel was keen to keep his private life out of the public spotlight."

Luxembourg's prime minister first EU leader to marry same-sex partner

[Source]

Luxembourg's prime minister first EU leader to marry same-sex partner

Xavier Bettel and his partner, Gauthier Destenay, among first gay men to wed in mostly Catholic Grand Duchy

Damien Gayle
Friday 15 May 2015

Xavier BettelPhotograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images 

Luxembourg’s prime minister is to become the first European Union leader – and only the second worldwide leader – to marry someone of the same sex.

Xavier Bettel, 42, and his partner, Gauthier Destenay, an architect from Belgium, are among the first gay men to wed in the mostly Catholic Grand Duchy since it became the latest EU state to extend full rights to same-sex couples.

Their union comes five years after Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the then prime minister of Iceland, became the first serving leader in the world to marry a same-sex partner.

Bettel and Destenay, who have been civil partners since 2010, were expected to say their vows in a quiet civil ceremony with friends and family, away from the glare of publicity.

“It won’t be a flashy ceremony but the symbolism’s very strong,” said French broadcaster Stéphane Bern, a friend of Bettel and Destenay. “Everyone’s warm and positive,” Bern was quoted as saying by the Luxemburger Wort newspaper.

Few details have emerged about the wedding, which Bettel had aimed to keep private. Press photographers have been banned.

“He does not want to put his private life in the public spotlight and he has turned down requests from the celebrity magazines to cover the event,” a friend told Agence France-Presse earlier this month.

Bettel, who is leader of Luxembourg’s centre-right Democratic party, came out publicly as gay in 2008. But since taking power 18 months ago he has played down the significance of his sexuality, insisting “what happens at home remains private”.

His party won its leading place in a coalition government after promising to be a modernising force for Luxembourg, with plans to replace religious education in schools with general ethics classes, and to lower the voting age to 16.

Same-sex marriage was another key pledge. It was previously knocked down in 2007 by the then ruling Christian People’s party, but a poll in 2013 found 83% of Luxembourgers supported a change in the law.

Little is known about Destenay, who works for the Belgian-Luxembourger architecture firm A3. He has appeared alongside Bettel at a number of official events, including the royal wedding of Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie in 2012.

What is known is that it was Destenay who proposed, reportedly asking for Bettel’s hand just weeks after Luxembourg’s parliament last July became the ninth EU legislature to lift a ban on gay marriages.

“I said ‘yes’,” Bettel told the Los Angeles Times. “I have just one life and I don’t want to hide my life.”

Luxembourg Prime Minister marries his male partner one year after tiny Catholic nation approved law allowing same-sex marriage

[Source]

Luxembourg Prime Minister marries his male partner one year after tiny Catholic nation approved law allowing same-sex marriage

  • PM Xavier Bettel is being hailed as a symbol of social and political change
  • He is the first EU leader to enter into a same-sex marriage
  • Iceland's premier Johanna Sigurdardottir became the world's first when she married her writer partner in 2010
  • But the honeymoon has been postponed due to Bettel's busy schedule /li>
By Imogen Calderwood For Mailonline
Published: 23:12 GMT, 15 May 2015 | Updated: 00:00 GMT, 16 May 2015

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel (right)
and his partner Gauthier Destenay, pose for a
photograph following their low-key wedding
ceremony. Bettel has become the first gay EU leader
to enter into a same-sex union 
The Prime Minister of Luxembourg has become the first gay EU leader to enter into a same-sex union, after getting married in a low-key ceremony today.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is being held up as a symbol of social change and the growing acceptance of homosexuality across the continent.

The 42-year-old centre-right politician, who became premier in 2013, married his partner Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect.

The wedding comes just months after the conservative Roman Catholic duchy legalised gay weddings.

Bettel worse a nave blue suit as he said his 'I dos', while his partner dressed in a dark grey suit, at the ceremony held at the Luxembourg town hall.

The happy pair held hands as they arrived at the venue, to the applause of the around 100 well-wishers.

'Thank you to all Luxembourgers,' said Bettel, after the ceremony, as the crowd threw rice and confetti over the newlyweds.

Bettel is only the second gay leader in the world to wed their partner, and the first in the 28-nation EU.

The Prime Minister holds up the hand of his new husband, displaying the wedding band on his finger
The happy couple have a quick embrace outside the Luxembourg town hall, where they got married today
Posing outside the Luxembourg town hall, the Prime Minister says 'thank you to all Luxembourgers'
Iceland's prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, became the first when she married her partner, a writer, in 2010.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, who was among the guests at Bettel's wedding, said he had come for a 'mate's wedding', adding that it was a 'big moment' for his counterpart from the neighbouring country.

'Luxembourg is giving the image of a country that is advanced on social issues. That is a message sent at a time when homophobia is on the rise in Europe,' said another friend of the couple, journalist Stephane Bern.

The PM embraces his delighted new husband, Belgian architect Gauthier Destenay, in their complementary blue and grey suits
Luxembourg's parliament approved same-sex marriage in June 2014 and the first weddings took place on January 1 2015
The couple enter the town hall holding hands, shortly before their low-key wedding ceremony today
Luxembourg's parliament approved same-sex marriage in June 2014 and the first weddings took place on January 1, 2015, making it the latest in a growing number of European countries to embrace the trend.

Bettel's wedding comes the week before staunchly Catholic Ireland holds a referendum on whether to allow same-sex marriage.

On the eve of his marriage to Destenay, Bettel said he had not wanted to hide his sexuality.

'I could have hidden it or repressed it and been unhappy my whole life. I could have had relations with someone of the other sex while having homosexual relations in secret,' he told Belgium's RTBF public television.

The PM and his new husband arrive at the town hall earlier today, to be greeted by a crowd of around 100 well-wishers
The couple leave the town hall arm in arm after the wedding ceremony, as PM Bettel becomes the first gay leader of the EU to enter into a same-sex marriage
'But I told myself that if you want to be a politician, be honest in politics, you have to be honest with yourself and to accept that you are who you are.'

In August, Bettel had announced that he would marry Destenay with whom he has been in a civil union since 2010. 'He asked me and I said 'yes,'' he told the Los Angeles Times.

The ceremony will be followed by weekend-long private celebrations for around 500 guests, sources said.

The couple have postponed their honeymoon because of Bettel's busy political schedule which includes Luxembourg taking over the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1.

Bettel reaches out to take the hand of his partner Gauthier Destenay as they arrive at the town hall for their marriage
Bettel (right) and Destenay following the ceremony, but the honeymoon has been postponed as the prime minister's busy political schedule doesn't allow for it
The couple thank well-wishers who applauded them at the ceremony today, as they prepare for weekend-long celebrations for around 500 guests
Bettel is also campaigning to win a June 7 referendum on a series of reforms, including limiting the premier's term to 10 years and cutting the voting age to 16 years.

The Luxembourg PM kept his wedding deliberately low key, sources said.

'He does not want to put his private life in the public spotlight and he has turned down requests from the celebrity magazines to cover the event,' one source told AFP ahead of the wedding.

Stephane Bern, a broadcaster who is a friend of Bettel, told the Luxemburger Wort daily ahead of the wedding: 'Everyone finds this to be a very warm and sympathetic symbol.'

The couple outside the town hall, as Bettel becomes a symbol of political and social change in Luxembourg, one of the founding members of the EU

'Xavier Bettel wants to stay discreet, there is nothing ostentatious about this ceremony, but the symbolism is very strong - it shows he is a reformist prime minister.'

Indeed Bettel symbolises political as well as social change in Luxembourg, a small very wealthy country nestled between Belgium, Germany and France that was one of the founding members of what became the EU.

He replaced the now-European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker as prime minister in December 2013, ending the veteran leaders 19 years of conservative leadership with a promise to modernise the country.

Bettel's deputy prime minister Etienne Schneider - who assumed office in December 2013 - is also gay.

French TV host Stephane Bern as he arrives to attend the wedding ceremony of his friend. He said of the wedding: 'Everyone finds this to be a very warm and sympathetic symbol.'

There have only been three openly gay world leaders to date, all of them in Europe.

The first was Johanna Sigurdardottir, who came to power in Iceland in February 2009, following the country's economy collapse.

Her government passed same-sex marriage legislation in 2010, which allowed the now 72-year-old to marry her longtime partner, writer Jonina Leosdottir.

She ended her office in May 2013.

Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo became leader of Belgium in late 2011. He has been open about his sexuality since the 1990s, but remained single throughout his term in office.

Same-sex marriage was legalised in Belgium in 2003.

Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel is first serving EU leader to wed same-sex partner

[Source]

Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel is first serving EU leader to wed same-sex partner


Bettel and architect Gauthier Destenay married in a private ceremony on Friday

Saturday 16 May 2015

Luxembourg's Prime Minister has become the first serving leader in the EU to wed someone of the same sex after marrying his partner in a ceremony on Friday.

Xavier Bettel and Belgian architect Gauthier Destenay were among the first men to marry under the country’s new law on same-sex marriage, which came into force on 1 January. They have been civil partners since 2010.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was one of the guests at the ceremony, telling Belgium's RTBF radio: "I came to the wedding of a friend. It's a great moment for him and I had to be present.”

Bettel came out as gay on a radio show seven years ago, according to Reuters.

"I could have hidden it or repressed it and been unhappy my whole life,” he reportedly told journalists the night before his wedding. “But I told myself that if you want to be a politician and be honest in politics, you have to be honest with yourself and accept that you are who you are."

The private ceremony was officiated by Luxembourg City mayor Lydie Polfer. Afterwards, Bettel hugged Destenay in front of around 250 people gathered outside and told the crowd: "Luxembourg can set an example."

Luxembourg PM first EU leader to marry same-sex partner

[Source]

Luxembourg PM first EU leader to marry same-sex partner
15 May 2015

PM Xavier Bettel, right, waves as he walks with his partner Gauthier Destenay to the town hall for their marriage
Luxembourg's prime minister has become the first serving EU leader - and second leader in the world - to marry a same-sex partner.

Xavier Bettel married Gauthier Destenay on Friday in a private ceremony at the capital's town hall.

The couple are among the first to benefit after the country changed its laws to allow gay marriages last year.

The union comes after Iceland's then-PM Johanna Sigurdardottir married her same-sex partner in 2010.

Mr Bettel formed a government in December 2013 to become Luxembourg's first openly gay prime minister.

He announced that he and his civil partner Mr Destenay, an architect, would be getting married just months after lawmakers approved the law change in June 2014.

'Honest in politics'

"I could have hidden it or repressed it and been unhappy my whole life," Mr Bettel reportedly told a Belgian broadcaster the night before the nuptials.

"But I told myself that if you want to be a politician and be honest in politics, you have to be honest with yourself and accept that you are who you are."

Former Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo was the EU's first openly gay national leader.

The Luxembourg newly-weds are not expected to go away on a honeymoon, as the PM has to attend an economic forum in Kazakhstan, according to AFP news agency.

A friend of the couple told the French news agency Mr Bettel was keen to keep his private life out of the public spotlight.

Pierre Leyers, a journalist in Luxembourg, told the BBC that the country's media and public were respecting the PM's wishes.

"It is something quite ingrained in society - we are quite reserved and do not like things to be too public," he said.

Among the guests spotted in the crowd was Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, according to Luxemburger Wort newspaper.

Correspondents say Luxembourg was previously a conservative Catholic country but attitudes have changed in recent years, in part due to the high number of immigrants and foreign workers.

Mr Bettel defeated conservative PM Jean-Claude Juncker in 2013 after Mr Juncker's almost two decades in power.