Business personality
Enrique Sacau brought a breath of fresh air to the Luxembourg financial sector upon taking the reins of Kneip in the summer of 2020. This year, Sacau has brought in and has also been . In November, Kneip struck an exclusive to bring increased visibility for European investment funds to American investors.
The outspoken director and executive committee chairman of the UEL, Jean-Paul Olinger, has often been a leader in expressing employers’ concerns about the state of the nation’s economy and business environment. Not afraid to , Olinger could be viewed as channelling the spirit of former UEL president Nicolas Buck.
Françoise Thoma led Spuerkeess to landmark achievements in 2021 Romain Gamba / Maison Moderne
Françoise Thoma has led Spuerkeess (the BCEE-state bank and savings fund) to landmark achievements this year. As well as sharing the title of (according to KPMG’s Customer Experience Excellence report), Spuerkeess has also developed a coherent approach to ESG, launched and joined .
Politician
With covid fatigue setting in, defining a coherent public health policy may be proving more exasperating this year than last. But health minister Paulette Lenert remains by far Luxembourg’s most popular politician, according to .
President of the OGBL union Nora Back continues to be , and employers’ associations. She has been persistent in demanding the restoration of the national tripartite meetings between government, employers and unions, and also questioned the validity and strategy of the CovidCheck at work policy.
Pirate party MP Sven Clement provided some of the most effective parliamentary opposition in 2021. Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne
Two years ago, Delano hailed Pirate party MP Sven Clement as our “disrupter” of the year. In 2021, he has been at the forefront of some of the most . That helped propel him into the top 10 on the Politmonitor poll.
New stories
The anti-vax protests led by some , both domestic and from neighbouring countries, dominated December’s headlines. The right to protest should never be questioned, but some of the protests were led by neo-fascists, people who belittled the Holocaust and even called for the killing of politicians.
The and revelations once again showed how vulnerable the grand duchy is to accusations of being a tax haven that turns a blind eye to entities of dubious origin. It simply must do better.
July’s devastating floods highlighted the ineffectiveness of Luxembourg’s disaster warning system. Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne
Expats
The career of Francis of Delirium singer-songwriter has exploded to the next level this year with a tour of the UK, rave reviews in the likes of Pitchfork for the Wading EP and a place in Stereogum’s 40 best new bands of 2021. And her orchestral concert at Rotondes was a thing of great beauty.
may have wound down British in Europe but she is still a voice of reason and righteous anger at the damage Brexit has done to the status of UK citizens in the EU. And she gained rightful recognition when she was awarded an OBE this year.
Wendy Winn not only continued to provide entertainment and insight into local culture, business, expat life and social issues in her weekly Happy Hour show on Radio Ara, she also found time to write a fine book of poetry--Train of Thought.
This article first appeared in the and has been edited for publication online.