Gaston Thorn
Gaston Egmond Thorn ( born September 3, 1928 in Luxembourg; † August 26, 2007 ) was a Luxembourgian politician.
Early life
During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II Thorn was several months concentration camp prisoner. Later he studied law at Montpellier, Lausanne and Paris. In 1953 he became President of the Student Association UNEL ( Union nationale des étudiant (e) s du Luxembourg ). In 1959 he became a member of the European (EP) and the Luxembourg Parliament; in the EP he remained until 1969. Thorn was 1961-1980 Chairman of the Democratic Party of Luxembourg.
Government and European Commission
In 1969, he was sports and Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy. After the elections in 1974, he also assumed the office of Prime Minister. These offices he held until 1979. Until the swearing of beggar- Xavier in 2013 Thorn was the only Prime Minister of Luxembourg, who was not a member of the CSV. Thorn initiated in 1975 as President of the 30th UN General Assembly. 1979/1980 Thorn of Luxembourg was economic, Justice and Foreign Affairs.
Of January 6, 1981 to January 5, 1985, he was President of the European Commission ( Commission Thorn ). During his presidency, the power of the Commission grew significantly, both to the detriment of Ministers and the European Parliament, the Commission has been in his frequent power struggle.
" Nachpolitisches " life
1987 Thorn Director General of Radio Luxembourg and the media holding CLT. With the merger in 1997 of the CLT and UFA to CLT -UFA, owns, inter alia, RTL Television and since 2000 part of the RTL Group, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company. 2004 Thorn retired.
Thorn was married.
Honors
- Grand Cross of the Falcon (1969 )
- Honorary Senator of the University of Saarland (1981 ) and Graz ( 1984)
- Sharpest blade of Solingen (1978 )