Colette Flesch has passed away at the age of 88.

The grande dame of the DP died on Wednesday night, a few months before turning 89, according to her family.

There is hardly a political office that the liberal politician did not hold: mayor, MP, deputy prime minister, party president (1980-1989) and MEP (1969-1980, 1999-2004).

Flesch was born on 16 April 1937 in Dudelange, but spent the years of the Nazi occupation in France. At the beginning of the 1960s, she studied economics and political science in the US. From 1964 to 1969, she initially worked at the Council of the European Communities. She later returned there as director general of the European Commission for Culture, Communication and Sport from 1990 to 1999.

Numerous hurdles for women

Flesch had already made a name for herself as a top athlete and represented Luxembourg as a fencer at three Olympic Games in 1960, 1964 and 1968. In 1967, she was named Sportswoman of the Year in Luxembourg.

She recalled her first participation in the Olympic Games in 1960 in an interview with the Luxemburger Wort in September 2024 by stating: “I only made it through the first round.” Nevertheless, the journey was an experience. Parading behind the national flag past the grandstand of the grand duke was impressive, said Flesch.

There was something special about the 1964 competition: the female fencers were tested for the first time to see whether they were really women. “I have a certificate that I am a woman,” she joked.

Colette Flesch (on right) in February 1984 with Pierre Werner (on left), Barbara Bush and then-Vice President George W. Bush © Photo credit: Jean Weyrich/Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

Flesch entered parliament for the DP in 1969. One year later, she was elected mayor of Luxembourg City as the youngest member and only woman on the municipal council.

The Wort wrote in April 2017, in an article marking her 80th birthday: “As the experienced heads of the DP were in government, the younger generation had to step up to the plate in the municipal elections. Flesch achieves a minor sensation: she receives the most votes at her first attempt. On 1 January 1970, Flesch became mayor of the capital at the age of just 32. She is not only the only woman on the municipal council, but also the youngest member.”

At the age of just 32, Colette Flesch was sworn in as mayor of the City of Luxembourg, in 1970 © Photo credit: Lé Sibenaler/Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

She joined the cabinet in 1980 when she replaced Gaston Thorn as deputy prime minister. Her experiences there were similar to those in sport and local politics: national politics was a male-dominated domain. At the end of 1980, she became minister of foreign affairs, economy and justice in Pierre Werner’s reshuffled government. In the second half of 1980, she was the first woman to become president of the Council of the EU.

Between 1984 and 1990 and again in 2004, she was a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and between 1988 and 2007 she sat on the municipal council in the capital. After almost four decades in politics, Flesch retired from active politics in 2009 at the age of 72.

The Luxembourg Olympic delegation lands in Findel in 1968. From left to right: Ferd Wirtz, Lou Deny, Charles Sowa, Nico Klein, Colette Flesch, Arlette Wilmes, head of delegation Jean Kies and airline representative Fred Back. © Photo credit: Lé Sibenaler/Photothèque de la Ville de Luxembourg

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using an AI tool and then edited by Aaron Grunwald.)