History

The LIEIS was formally founded in October 1990. It grew out of a special relationship between Harvard University and former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jacques Santer. A first major academic conference was held in December 1987 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, to be followed one year later by a second conference on the Western community and the Gorbachev challenge.

The key project of the LIEIS has been "The Vitality of Nations". After two conceptual conferences in 1990 (March 1990 in Luxembourg and September 1990 at Harvard), many more conferences have been organised. These conferences analysed in greater detail the vitality of a specific country, region or city, or focused on a specific aspect of vitality, such as social capital and nurture. More recently the Institute has turned its attention towards topics that are more directly related to Luxembourg and to the European Union. It has set up a long-term project on the future of Luxembourg and the wider European social models.

The Institute has always involved students and young researchers into its endeavours. Initially, the LIEIS, together with Harvard and other universities, organised several simulation conferences, simulating the US Congress, EU institutions and Central and Eastern European parliaments. This activity has been replaced since 1994 by summer courses, which are organised in association with several East European research centres. Furthermore the Institute supports advanced students in their studies. It offers scholarships for its summer courses and gives internships to researchers who want to use the Institute and its proximity to the EU institutions to pursue their own research project besides being involved in the Institute's projects.

Aims & Focus

The Institute aims to engage in an extensive range of high quality, innovative research, by keeping in contact with universities and research centres all over the world. Our goal is to provide innovative, practical recommendations. We strive to publish works that are academically relevant, but also of interest for political and economic decision-makers. Our general approach has been multidisciplinary and multinational: we do our best to invite people from different academic disciplines, different countries, both theorists and practitioners, people from the academic as well as from the political, economic, and cultural spheres of life, looking at the past, the present and the future.

Fields of Interest:

Structure

The LIEIS is an independent, non-profit organisation based in the City of Luxembourg (a.s.b.l.).
It is made up of the following bodies, as detailed below:

The Board meets once or twice a year to adopt the Institute's general policy.
It consists of high-level representatives of the political, economic and cultural life of the country.

Chairman: François Colling, former Member of the European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg
Vice Chairman: Edmond Israel, Honorary Chairman, Clearstream International, Luxembourg
Secretary General: Jul Christophory, former Head of the European Commission Representation in Luxembourg
Treasurer: Mario Hirsch, Director, Pierre Werner Institute, Luxembourg

Members:
Serge Allegrezza, Director, Central Service for Statistics and Economic Studies, Ministry of Economics, Luxembourg
Gerhard Michael Ambrosi, Professor emerit. of European Economic Policy, University of Trier
Armand Clesse, Director, Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies
Richard Cooper, Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics, Harvard University
Leo Faber, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations, New York
Jean-Claude Felten, Conseiller de direction 1ère classe, Prime Minister's Office, Luxembourg
Jean-Claude Finck, Director General, Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat, Luxembourg
Jean-Jacques Kasel, Ambassador; Member of the European Court of Justice, Luxembourg
Guy Kirsch, Professor emerit. of Economics, University of Fribourg
Monique Klopp, former Director, Lycée Michel Rodange, Luxembourg
Jean-Paul Lehners, Professor of Global History; former Vice-Rector, University of Luxembourg
Charles S. Maier, Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History, Harvard University
Yves Mersch, Governor, Banque Centrale du Luxembourg
Paul Mertz, Ambassador; former Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg
Jean-Claude Muller, Cultural Historian, First Government Counsellor, Ministry of State, Luxembourg
André Roelants, Chairman, Clearstream International, Luxembourg
Nicolas Schmit, Minister of Labour, Employment and Immigration, Luxembourg
Alfred Steinherr, Professor of Economics, Free University of Bolzano; Honorary Chief Economist, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg
Michel Waringo, former Member of the Executive Board, Banque Générale du Luxembourg
Raymond Weber, former First Government Counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg

• Executive Committee (Comité Exécutif)

The Executive Committee is a small body that meets, on average, every two months to discuss the implementation of the programme approved by the Supervisory Board.

Chairman: Paul Mertz
Members: Serge Allegrezza, Jul Christophory, Armand Clesse, François Colling, Leo Faber, Jean-Claude Felten, Mario Hirsch, Jean-Paul Lehners, Jean-Claude Muller, Michel Waringo, Raymond Weber

The staff consists of a director, some permanent research assistants and fellows, and external researchers.

Permanent Staff

Finances

The bulk of the finances stems from an annual subsidy by the Government of Luxembourg. A minor part of the budget comes from grants, offered for specific projects, by international organisations.