In an interview with RTL radio on Thursday 25 January, he said he would not stand for the national elections in October this year.
He justified his choice by saying he had realised how important it was to work with European institutions, both during his time as minister and when he worked in the private sector.
After he quit politics in 2013, he worked as vice president at Deutsche Bank London. Frieden came back to Luxembourg in 2016, he became chair of the executive board of Bil (a bank), and later chair of media group Saint-Paul, which owns Luxemburger Wort and Luxembourg Times. He is also a lawyer at Elvinger Hoss Prussen.
Previously, it had been announced that CSV political heavyweight Viviane Reding would be a candidate for the 2018 parliamentary elections.