Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel is first serving EU leader to wed same-sex partner
Bettel and architect Gauthier Destenay married in a private ceremony on Friday
Saturday 16 May 2015
Luxembourg's Prime Minister has become the first serving leader in the EU to wed someone of the same sex after marrying his partner in a ceremony on Friday.
Xavier Bettel and Belgian architect Gauthier Destenay were among the first men to marry under the country’s new law on same-sex marriage, which came into force on 1 January. They have been civil partners since 2010.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was one of the guests at the ceremony, telling Belgium's RTBF radio: "I came to the wedding of a friend. It's a great moment for him and I had to be present.”
Bettel came out as gay on a radio show seven years ago, according to Reuters.
"I could have hidden it or repressed it and been unhappy my whole life,” he reportedly told journalists the night before his wedding. “But I told myself that if you want to be a politician and be honest in politics, you have to be honest with yourself and accept that you are who you are."
The private ceremony was officiated by Luxembourg City mayor Lydie Polfer. Afterwards, Bettel hugged Destenay in front of around 250 people gathered outside and told the crowd: "Luxembourg can set an example."
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