Henri Grethen: "I've never owned a Maybach!"

Henri Grethen grew up in Esch-sur-Alzette, a town where daily life was shaped by the rhythm of the steelworks. Over the course of his long professional career, he served, amongst other roles, as Secretary-General of the Confédération du Commerce, Secretary-General and parliamentary group leader of the DP, Minister for the Economy and Transport in the Juncker/Polfer government, and Luxembourg's representative to the European Court of Auditors. In this interview, he recalls his childhood in Esch, the steel crisis, the satellite operator SES, banking secrecy and the 2008 bank bailout.

Lëtzebuerger Journal: You grew up in Esch; your father ran a butcher's shop there. How did that time shape your understanding of work and the economy?

Henri Grethen: I knew that my parents had to work very hard. That's why I decided early on not to follow in their footsteps, but to do something different.

You experienced the heyday of the steel industry first-hand. What was your first conscious realisation of just how dependent Luxembourg – and Esch in particular – was on the steel industry?

My father told me back then that, after the war, a steelworker earned twice as much as a senior civil servant. People in the Minett worked hard and ate much – especially plenty of meat. It was practically like a street fair there almost every day. Things were different in the capital. People there might have bought a steak now and then, but not much else. That's why my father chose Esch; he was from the Minett himself. That's when I realised how important the steel industry was to his business.

Nevertheless, our family always had a mixed relationship with the steel industry. No one in my father's family had ever worked in a steelworks. My ancestors were farmers and market gardeners from the area around Niederkorn, Differdange, Belvaux, Rodange and Lamadelaine. They were repeatedly expropriated by the steel barons because the works needed land. Whenever the land was required, people were expropriated. You did receive compensation, but the land was gone. Even as late as the early 1970s, my father faced the threat of his land being expropriated in favour of Arbed. All of this had a profound effect on me.

You began your professional career in 1976 as an economic advisor. Why?

I'd initially studied medicine until I realised I wasn't cut out for it. So I looked for something else. A good friend, Nic Weber, the former editor-in-chief of RTL, told me there was a vacancy at the Fédération des Commerçants and that I should apply there. They actually took me on. It was there that I had the idea of merging the Fédération des Commerçants and the Fédération des négociants en gros, and so I went from being an economic adviser to Secretary-General of the Confédération du Commerce, which is now called the Luxembourg Confederation. I remained there until 1989.

At the same time, you became Secretary-General of the Democratic Party in 1980. How did that come about?

It was one of the few occasions when there was actually an election for this post and not just a single candidate. I was 29 years old at the time. My opponent was Carlo Meintz, a Member of Parliament and mayor of Walferdange. Everyone told me I didn't stand a chance, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. At the party conference in Dudelange, I received 66 per cent of the vote. The party leadership was somewhat taken aback by this.