Pioneering women in the Grand Duchy's politics

Marguerite Thoma Clement made history as the first female deputy in Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies in 1919, just after women gained the right to vote. A strong advocate for women's rights, she championed the most marginalised communities in the country.

Nearly five decades later, Madeleine Frieden-Kinnen broke another barrier, becoming Luxembourg’s first female minister in 1967, paving the way for women in politics.

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The first deputy

Marguerite Thoma Clement was born in Luxembourg City in 1886 and trained as a schoolteacher. She was well known in Luxembourg's political circles even before women's suffrage was granted, having married the socialist Xavier Thomas in 1917. Deciding to stand in the elections of 1919, she was duly elected as a deputy for the Socialist Party from the Centre constituency, becoming the first female member of the Chamber of Deputies
It was not until 1965 that another woman, namely Astrid Lulling, would sit in the Chamber.

Thomas-Clement would prove to be a strong supporter of women's rights, introducing a bill in 1920 calling for political, civil, and economic equality between the sexes, though it did not pass. She was an ardent defender of Luxembourg's most overlooked communities, speaking up for female iron-workers and prostitutes, as well as drawing attention to the poor conditions in the Grand Duchy’s maternity wards.

In 1924, Thomas-Clement also became a councillor in the capital, and her political positions shifted during the 1920s as she joined a more radical socialist grouping. However, this proved to be her downfall, as she did not win re-election in 1931. Thomas-Clement lived to the grand age of 92, passing away in Noerdange in 1979.

Marguerite Thomas-Clement / © Public domain

The first minister

The first female minister in a Luxembourgish government would not take office until 1967, when Madeleine Frieden-Kinnen broke the glass ceiling. Born in Esch-sur-Alzette in 1915, Frieden-Kinnen studied in Dijon, Paris, Munich, and Louvain, earning a Doctor of Arts. A strong Catholic, in 1953 she founded an organisation for women within the Christian Social People's Party (CSV).

After marrying Pierre Frieden, a former concentration camp survivor who became prime minister in 1958, she entered politics following his death in 1959. In 1967, she became Minister for Families, Youth, and Education in a CSV-LSAP coalition. Following a government reshuffle in 1969, she also took on the Culture brief.

However, in 1972, she resigned after the contentious Buergfrid Affair, where she was accused of immoral behaviour. After leaving politics, Frieden-Kinnen worked in development in Africa, passing away in Luxembourg City in 1999 at age 83.

Both Marguerite Thomas-Clement and Madeleine Frieden-Kinnen deserve to be remembered as pioneers of gender equality in the Grand Duchy.
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