Luxembourg PM: I am engaged and will marry same-sex partner ‘soon’
Luxembourg’s out Prime Minister has revealed that he will marry his partner “soon”, after his country passed a same-sex marriage law.
Luxembourg became the first country to have an out Prime Minister and an out Deputy Prime Minister at the same time last year, when Prime Minister Xavier Bettel came to power.
The country’s parliament passed an equal marriage bill in June by a vote of 56-4, with marriages are expected to start before 2015.
Mr Bettel revealed to the LA Times today that he will “soon” marry his partner Gauthier Destenay, who he is already in a civil partnership with.
Mr Bettel said: “He asked me, and I said yes. I can’t give you the date, because it’s not official yet.”
He added: “I have just one life, and I don’t want to hide my life.
“But I was not the ‘gay candidate.’ People didn’t vote for me because I’m gay or I’m straight.
“I think in Europe, what is important is people respect private choices as long as you are honest.”
Former Icelandic Prime Minsiter Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir previously became the first head of government to enter a same-sex marriage while in office, in 2010.
