Luxembourg Embassy in Washington, DC

2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW

Washington, DC   20008

www.luxembourg-usa.org

 Private tours of the Luxembourg Embassy are available by appointment only. 

        The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has maintained its diplomatic presence in the United States since the beginning of World War II.  The Luxembourg Embassy, located on “embassy row”, is housed in a Louis XV limestone and brick mansion built at the beginning of the 20th century by prominent New York architects Jules Henri de Sibour and Bruce Price.  The mansion was built for Congressman Alexander Stewart from Wisconsin.

         In 1940, after the Nazi troops invaded Luxembourg, Grand Duchess Charlotte left the country and went into exile.  She came to the United States under the guidance of President Roosevelt and settled with her family in Canada, before joining the Luxembourg government in exile in London.

         During her stay in North America, Grand Duchess Charlotte purchased the mansion from the Stewart family.  The Grand Duchess’s mother, Grand Duchess Maria Anna, resided in the mansion until 1942.

         Luxembourg’s first diplomatic institution in the United States, the Luxembourg legation, moved to its present location at 2200 Massachusetts Avenue in 1941, after its initial establishment at the Shoreham Hotel in 1940.  The legation received embassy status in 1955.  The Luxembourg government acquired the mansion in 1962.  It was first used as the residence of the ambassador, until it became the chancery in the 1970s.  The formal reception rooms are still used to host the social functions organized by the embassy.

         In 2002 and 2003 the embassy underwent an extensive remodeling project under the leadership of Ambassador Arlette Conzemius. 

         The Luxembourg Embassy has been at the heart of many of the developments that took place in the bilateral relationship with the United States over the last sixty years.  Among the highlights are State visits paid to the United States by HRH Grand Duchess Charlotte in 1963 and HRH Grand Duke Jean in 1984.

         Ministerial delegations visit Washington frequently and use the embassy as their base.  In addition to bilateral visits, the Prime Minister attends the annual meetings at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

         In the early years, the ambassador of Luxembourg to the US also served as the ambassador to the United Nations.  A separate mission to the United Nations was later established in New York.

         The first ambassador of the Grand Duchy, Hughes Le Gallais, entered office on April 3, 1940.  He was succeeded by Ambassador Georges Heisbourg (1958 – 1964), Ambassador Maurice Steinmetz (1964 – Sept. 1969), Ambassador Jean Wagner (1969 – 1974), Ambassador Adrien Meisch (1974 – 1983), Ambassador Paul Peters (1983 – 1987), Ambassador André Philippe (1987 – 1991), Ambassador Alphonse Berns (1991 – 1998), Ambassador Arlette Conzemius (1998 – 2006) and Ambassador Joseph Weyland (2006 - 2008).  Ambassador Jean-Paul Senninger has held the post since 2008.

         The Luxembourg ambassador to the US is also accredited to Canada and Mexico and is the Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States.

         The Luxembourg embassy was officially reopened in September 2004, in the presence of HRH Grand Duke Henri, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn, and the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Jeannot Krecké.  On the occasion of the reopening of the embassy, several events celebrating the bilateral relationship between Luxembourg and the United States took place in Washington.

         The renovation of the embassy, initially aimed at modernizing the structural and mechanical elements of the mansion, became an opportunity to bring a contemporary touch to a historic building.  Two Luxembourg artists, Jean-Marie Biwer and Tina Gillen, were invited to develop a specific concept for the decoration of the renovated embassy.  It was important to preserve the character of the house, particularly the remarkable woodwork, while brightening the atmosphere of the mansion. 

         Among other artists who have contributed with their work to the embassy are Véronica Kolber, Anne Vinck, René Wiroth, Doris Sanders, and Roland Schauls.  Biwer, who is from the northern part of Luxembourg, painted white birch trees, Bouleaux, for the panels in the living room.  The paintings are windows opening to the outside world and they add a light touch to the formality of the living room.

         Tina Gillen’s paintings for the Luxembourg Embassy refer to the history of landscape painting.  The artist’s paintings are mainly figurative, showing fragments of reality the schematic nature of which makes them abstract and alien.  Gillen records reality and converts it into pictorial images.  She depicts both the landscape and the perception of it.

         Tina Gillen’s paintings use a colorful palette.  She often lets architectural forms pop out of the canvas in such a way that known forms become abstractions of color fields that are reflected in Piero della Francesca’s works.

         The renovated Luxembourg Embassy with its rich, historic architecture and intriguing contemporary works of art continues to serve as the focal point of Luxembourg and US relations. 

(Text adapted from The Luxembourg Embassy in Washington 2004)