Party of the Right (Luxembourg)

The Party of the Right (Luxembourgish: Rietspartei, French: Parti de la droite, German: Rechtspartei), abbreviated to PD, was a political party in Luxembourg between 1914 and 1944. It was the direct predecessor of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), which has ruled Luxembourg for all but five years since.

The conservative PD was founded on 16 January 1914. Present at the founding were Émile Reuter, Émile Prüm, Mgr. Schiltz, Albert Philippe, Pierre Dupong, Joseph Bech and Mgr. Jean Origer. The founding of the party in 1914 was a reaction to the formalisation of the other ideological alliances within the Chamber of Deputies. The Socialist Party formed in 1902, whilst the dominant Liberal League was founded in 1904. The PD benefited from the break-up of the Socialist-Liberal alliance after the death of Paul Eyschen, and soon became the dominant party, strengthened by the introduction of universal suffrage in 1918. The leader of the Party of the Right would serve as the Prime Minister from the end of the First World War until the start of the Second, except for a fourteen-month period in the mid-1920s.

The three Prime Ministers from the Party of the Right were Émile Reuter (1918-1925), Joseph Bech (1926-1937), and Pierre Dupong (1937-1944); the latter two would go on to serve as Prime Minister as heads of the CSV. It is also notable that the PD cabinet of 1921-25 was the only cabinet in Luxembourgian history that included politicians of only one party.

Seats in the Chamber of Deputies

Seats in the Chamber Party of the Right 1918-1937
Year	Seats	Total seats in the Chamber	Vote percentage
1918	23	53	43.40%
1919	27	48	56.25%
1922	25	48	52.08%
1925	22	47	46.81%
1928	23	52	44.23%
1931	26	54	48.15%
1934	25	54	46.30%
1937	25	55	45.45%

References

• Thewes, Guy (July 2003). Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 (PDF) (in French) (Édition limitée ed.). Luxembourg City: Service Information et Presse. ISBN 2-87999-118-8. Retrieved 2006-11-09.