Paul Eyschen

Paul Eyschen (9 September 1841 – 11 October 1915) was a Luxembourgish politician, statesman, lawyer, and diplomat. He was the longest-serving prime minister of Luxembourg, serving for twenty-seven years, from 1888 until his death in 1915.

Early life The son of Charles-Gérard Eyschen, a former Director-General for Justice, Eyschen was born in Diekirch, in northern Luxembourg, on 9 September 1841. Eyschen graduated in 1860 from the Athénée de Luxembourg. Eyschen became a lawyer after studying Law in Bonn and Paris. He was admitted to the bar on 9 November 1865.

Prime minister On 7 July 1876, Eyschen emulated his father by becoming Director-General for Justice, a position he held until 1888, when, upon the resignation of Édouard Thilges, Eyschen was appointed Prime Minister. For the following 27 years, Eyschen dominated Luxembourgish political life, holding sway over a succession of monarchs and overseeing an era of economic resurgence and the end of the personal union with the Netherlands.

Education Towards the late 19th century, it appeared clear that the traditional education system in Luxembourg was no longer fit to serve the new society as it was since the Industrial Revolution. Economic developments brought forth new social and professional classes. A middle class of employees and civil servants emerged from the growth of state services and administration. Manufacturing and trade were transformed by industrial and commercial progress. Through a far-reaching reform of the education system, Eyschen's government attempted to respond to these changes in society. Eyschen advocated the idea of a specialisation of schools: the Athénée de Luxembourg for those intending to later pursue university studies, an industrial school for those destined for a technical occupation, an agriculture school for farmers' sons, and a craftwork school for the sons of craftsmen. Particular attention was given to vocational education.

The law of 1892 split off the industrial school from the Athénée and added to it a commercial section; the law of 1896 created an artisanal school. These efforts were accompanied by an increase in students attending secondary school under the Eyschen government: 875 in 1879–1880 compared to 2500 in 1919–1920. In 1903 he had the Dicks–Lentz Monument built, to honour the two national poets of Luxembourg Michel Lentz (1820–1893) and Edmond de la Fontaine (1823–1891), "Dicks".

Death Eyschen died, whilst still in office, on 11 October 1915, one year into the German occupation during the First World War. He was succeeded by his long-term Director-General for Finances and ally, Mathias Mongenast. For a long time, due to the unexpected nature of his death at a difficult time for him, there were rumours that he had taken his own life.

After Eyschen's death, the country faced a series of government crises. For a long time, his strong personality had masked the deep divisions in the Luxembourgish political world. From the turn of the century, political debates became more and more obstinate. In 1908, liberals and socialists had formed the Left Bloc, an alliance between representatives of industry and of the workers, bound together by anti-clericalism. The Bloc had a solid majority in the Chamber. However, the power ratio was changed by the war and its various hardships. Faced with social tensions due to the poor food supply situation and price increases, the left-wing alliance crumbled, while the Party of the Right gained in popularity.