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CC 355 2019
2 euro coin
Proof
2 Euro Proof
Luxembourg · 100 years of universal suffrage in Luxembourg
Mintage2,500
Issue date19 Sept 2019
Packagingin case
Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted
Price of the set (6 coins)€690.00
Issue occasion
The coin commemorates the 100th anniversary of the introduction of universal suffrage in 1919. The design shows a portrait of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri on the left and a hand casting a ballot into a ballot box on the right. The design is supplemented by the inscriptions “LUXEMBOURG”, “Centenaire du suffrage universel” and “1919-2019”.
The design
Depicted on the left is the portrait of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri, and on the right a ballot box into which a hand is placing a ballot paper. At the bottom, “LUXEMBOURG” can be read as the name of the issuing country. At the top, the inscription “Centenary of universal suffrage” is arranged in a semicircle, with “1919-2019” below it; 2019 is also the year of issue. The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer coin ring.
Background on the topic
Until 1919, political participation in Luxembourg was tied to gender, age and tax requirements. Only men who had reached a certain minimum age and paid a specified amount of tax were entitled to vote. Large sections of the adult population were thus excluded from parliamentary elections. Demands for an extension of voting rights came, among others, from the workers’ movement and from socialist and liberal forces.
The reform took place during a politically tense period. During the First World War, Luxembourg had been occupied by German troops despite its neutrality. After the end of the war, social conflicts, economic uncertainty and a crisis of the monarchy persisted. Grand Duchess Marie-Adelheid abdicated at the beginning of 1919; she was succeeded by her sister Charlotte. At the same time, the Constitution was revised. It expressly stated that state authority emanates from the nation. The position of the monarch was thus defined more clearly as an office bound by the constitution.
In May 1919, the constitutional amendment abolished the census suffrage. From then on, Luxembourgish women and men aged 21 and over were entitled to vote and stand for election. Women could therefore not only vote, but also stand as candidates for a mandate. In the same year, they took part in a referendum on the form of government and the country’s economic orientation, as well as in the subsequent parliamentary elections. In these elections, the socialist Marguerite Thomas-Clement became the first woman to enter the Chamber of Deputies.
Grand Duke Henri, Luxembourg’s head of state since 2000, was not involved in the events at the time. His inclusion instead points to the present-day constitutional monarchy and connects it with the democratic order whose foundations were redefined in 1919. The occasion was chosen because the reform at that time fundamentally broadened the circle of political participants and, in particular, established the legal equality of women and men in national elections.
The reform took place during a politically tense period. During the First World War, Luxembourg had been occupied by German troops despite its neutrality. After the end of the war, social conflicts, economic uncertainty and a crisis of the monarchy persisted. Grand Duchess Marie-Adelheid abdicated at the beginning of 1919; she was succeeded by her sister Charlotte. At the same time, the Constitution was revised. It expressly stated that state authority emanates from the nation. The position of the monarch was thus defined more clearly as an office bound by the constitution.
In May 1919, the constitutional amendment abolished the census suffrage. From then on, Luxembourgish women and men aged 21 and over were entitled to vote and stand for election. Women could therefore not only vote, but also stand as candidates for a mandate. In the same year, they took part in a referendum on the form of government and the country’s economic orientation, as well as in the subsequent parliamentary elections. In these elections, the socialist Marguerite Thomas-Clement became the first woman to enter the Chamber of Deputies.
Grand Duke Henri, Luxembourg’s head of state since 2000, was not involved in the events at the time. His inclusion instead points to the present-day constitutional monarchy and connects it with the democratic order whose foundations were redefined in 1919. The occasion was chosen because the reform at that time fundamentally broadened the circle of political participants and, in particular, established the legal equality of women and men in national elections.