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Xavier Bettel: Prime Minister of Luxembourg to marry his same-sex partner

The PM is set to wed Gauthier Destenay on Friday

Helen Nianias
Monday 11 May 2015 10:07 BST
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Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel is set to marry his partner
Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel is set to marry his partner (Rex Features)

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The Prime Minister of Luxembourg is taking advantage of the new gay marriage laws by getting married himself.

Xavier Bettel and architect Gauthier Destenay have been civil partners since 2010.

The tiny European duchy of Luxembourg is the only country in the world to have both a gay Prime Minister and Deputy, Etienne Schneider.

Sources told AFP that Bettel and Destenay want the service to be private, and have declined to have press photographers at the event.

"He does not want to put his private life in the public spotlight and he has turned down requests from the celebrity magazines to cover the event," a friend told the agency.

Bettel has promised to be a modernising force for Luxembourg, and wants to cut the voting age to 16.

The population of Luxembourg is around 562,000 and the local religion is Roman Catholic.

And Bettel seems to be on fairly good terms with British PM David Cameron - check out these friendly international relations.

And, if you were curious, the correct term to describe a person from Luxembourg is "Luxembourger".

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