Xavier Bettel – husband to be

November 2011: Xavier Bettel is sworn in as mayor of Luxembourg City with Gauther Destenay by his side Photo: Anouk Antony

The couple arrive for the national day Te Deum at Notre Dame Cathedral Photo: Gerry Huberty

Wedding on Friday-Thursday, 14 May, 2015

(CS/hay/NW) With Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel set to marry his partner Gauthier Destenay this week, we take a closer look at the life of the Grand Duchy's Premier.

Born March 3, 1973, Bettel's ancestry is of mixed origins. In an interview with daily newspaper “Tageblatt” in 2011 he said that his four grand parents were from Russia, Poland, France and Luxembourg, respectively. 

His mother, Aniela Bettel, is the grandniece of famous Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The flight attendant was embarking on a career as a model when she met her husband to be and moved to Luxembourg. 

Already at an early age the future politicians showed an interest in public affairs. Growing up in Bonnevoie, Bettel staged a protest for a local playground aged seven, impressing the local authorities, he recalled to the “Luxemburg Wort” in 2013. 

As a young teenager, Bettel joined the “Jeunesse Démocratique” but tragedy struck when his father passed away. Bettel was only 15 at the time and helped his mother manage the wine business left behind.

Public coming out in 2008

However, he also continued on a political path. Aged 18, Bettel became the vice-president of the DP's youth branch, later moving on to become president. In 2013 he would become president of the DP. 

A studied lawyer, Bettel became the youngest member of the Luxembourg parliament in 1999, aged 26. On the side he was also active as a television show host on the now defunct T.TV station. 

On the RTL television show Background, Bettel publicly came out as gay in 2008. 

Since 2010 he lives in a registered partnership with his husband to be Gauthier Destenay, who had accompanied Bettel to a number of official events over the years, such as the latter's swearing in ceremony as mayor of Luxembourg in 2011. 

They also appeared together at national day celebrations in 2012, 2013 and last year, as well as the royal wedding of Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie in 2012. In his function as mayor of Luxembourg City, Bettel officiated the civil service a day before the church ceremony. 

In 2013 then, Bettel became Prime Minister of Luxembourg, succeeding Jean-Claude Juncker. 

Last August he confided to the LA Times that he was engaged to his partner. With same-sex marriage in Luxembourg legal since the start of the year, the pair are set to marry on Friday. 

Few details have emerged of the wedding, which the PM aims to keep private. Little is also known of his Belgian partner Gauthier Destenay, who works as an architect for Belgian-Luxembourg architecture office A3.

What is known is that there will be no time for a honeymoon immediately after the wedding, with Bettel having said earlier this week that he is off to an economic forum in Kazakhstan next week.