Leader of Luxembourg given honorary degree

The prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, is the longest serving head of state in… The prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, is the longest serving head of state in all of Europe.

Nicknamed “Mr. Euro,” Juncker has twice served as president of the European Council, a forum consisting of the European heads of state, and has won some of Europe’s most prestigious awards including the International Charlemagne Prize.

Now he has a new award: an honorary doctorate from Pitt.

Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg awarded Juncker an honorary Doctor of Public and International Affairs degree from Pitt yesterday afternoon at a reception in Alumni Hall.

Nordenberg called the degree “the highest form of recognition that can be bestowed by any university.”

After taking a moment to carefully inspect the honorary degree to ensure it looked the same as a regular one, Pitt’s newest graduate thanked Nordenberg for the honor.

“Visiting your University today is first and foremost a visit to old friends,” said Juncker, who first visited Oakland a decade ago.

“It was my privilege to both observe and support the relationship between the University of Pittsburgh and Luxembourg. “

Juncker compared Pittsburgh to his homeland, whose economy was also once fueled by the steel industry.

“The steel mills did not only dominate the landscape but set the rhythm of life in Luxembourg,” he said.

“Both Pittsburgh and Luxembourg have gone through the same pains and both have emerged stronger than ever, without forgetting their pasts,” he said.

“It feels a bit like home.”

As president of Eurogroup, the organization of all states that have adopted the Euro as their official form of currency, and one of the principle architects of the Treaty of the European Union, Juncker is considered by many to be one of the leading advocates of a more unified Europe.

Juncker, who is also Luxembourg’s minister of state and minister of finance, lectured on his approach to further integrating Europe.

“European history, culture and politics implied that we like doing things the hard way,” he said.

“It is time for Europe to return to center stage and focus not on how to do, but what to do.”

While he said he sees Europe moving in the right direction, Juncker said more progress is needed.

“I would call myself a realist,” he said. “There is a crisis whose basic characteristics can be found in every European country.”

Juncker explained that the “crisis” is the need for a more unified Europe.

“Some Europeans are demanding more Europe, while others say there is already too much Europe,” he said.

Juncker praised European nations for moving toward unity despite differences in size and power.

“European nations accept that there is a difference in size but no difference in dignity,” he said. “Not one single European nation can develop a stand-alone policy.”

Juncker said Luxembourg’s status as a member of the EU garnered him an 80-minute meeting with President George W. Bush.

“Do you really think he would listen to countries [such as Luxembourg] if they were not members of the EU?” he asked.

Luxembourg has the highest per capita gross domestic product in the world.

The nation of fewer than half a million people was one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Committee, an organization that anticipated the European Union. Luxembourg is the world’s last grand duchy.

Nordenberg, who visited the ‘Bourg last year to solidify University relations with the nation, said that Pitt has become “one of the best places in the world to study European relations.”

“[Juncker] has the desire to promote peace, democracy, prosperity and stability throughout Europe and the world,” Nordenberg said.