Jean-Claude Juncker

Who is Jean-Claude Juncker?

Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourgish politician who was Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 20 January 1995 to 4 December 2013. By the time he left office, he was the longest-serving head of government of any European Union state and one of the longest-serving democratically elected leaders in the world. He was President of the Eurogroup from the creation of the semi-permanent position in 2005 until 2013.

Elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Social People's Party in 1984, Juncker was immediately promoted to Jacques Santer's cabinet as Minister for Work. He was Luxembourg's Minister for Finances from 1989 to 2009, and became Prime Minister when Santer became President of the European Commission in 1995. In his capacity of Prime Minister, he also served two six-month terms as President of the European Council, in 1997 and 2005.

In July 2013, Juncker's coalition government was brought down by a scandal involving the country's intelligence agency. As a result, a snap election was held in October in which Juncker sought a fifth term. While his party won a plurality of seats, the opposition formed a majority coalition, and Juncker left office on 4 December 2013.