Education and qualifications
Following his secondary school studies in Esch-sur-Alzette (classical mathematics section) Pierre Gramegna pursued studies in law and economics at the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), where he was awarded a master’s degree in civil law in 1981 and a degree in economic sciences in 1982.
He completed his post-university education with a DEA (post-graduate diploma of advanced studies) in European Union law. In 2020, he was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa from the ESCP Business School for his leadership in the domains of finance and diplomacy as well as for his commitment to sustainable development in Luxembourg. He was also awarded the title of doctor honoris causa from the Sacred Heart University Luxembourg.
Governmental posts
Following the legislative elections of 14 October 2018, Pierre Gramegna was re-appointed Minister of Finance on 5 December 2018 in the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng). Pierre Gramegna had first joined the government as Minister of Finance on 4 December 2013, after the legislative elections of 20 October 2013.
As Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna has initiated major reforms to balance the budget and to align Luxembourg’s tax rules with international transparency standards. Thanks to these efforts, Luxembourg’s AAA rating has been consistently confirmed by all major rating agencies and, in 2015, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes upgraded Luxembourg to “largely compliant”.
Pierre Gramegna modernised Luxembourg's tax framework by introducing an income degressive and therefore socially just tax credit in 2017 which also cushioned the impact of the introduction of the CO2 tax in 2021 for low-income earners. He was the first within the government to advocate the idea of free public transport, a measure that was introduced in 2020, making Luxembourg the first country in the world where this exists.
Furthermore, in 2014, Pierre Gramegna established Luxembourg's sovereign fund for the benefit of future generations.
Pierre Gramegna is also a promoter of the diversification of Luxembourg’s financial centre, in particular with regard to FinTech and sustainable finance. He is the initiator and presi-dent of the LHoFT Foundation, which runs the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology.
Together with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, he developed the Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative (LSFI), a public-private partnership which launched a national strategy for sustainable finance in February 2021. Today, Luxembourg's financial centre is among the greenest in Europe for all its activities ranging from investment funds, a joint platform with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for financing climate projects, an accelerator for climate funds, to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Since its launch in 2016, the Luxembourg Green Exchange dedicated to sustainable finance has become the global leader and lists more than half of the world's green bonds.
Pierre Gramegna participated as spokesman for the EU Presidency at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 3 in Kyoto in 1997 as well as at COP23 in Bonn in 2017 and COP25 in Madrid in 2019 as Minister of Finance. He is a founding member of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action and attends all meetings in person.
Pierre Gramegna is the doyen of the Eurogroup since the beginning of 2021. In the same year, he is vice-president of the OECD at a time when this institution is playing a
decisive role in reforming the global taxation of the profits of multinational companies (pillar 1), and when an agreement was reached on a global minimum tax rate (pillar 2).
As chair of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union during the Luxembourg Presidency (second half of 2015), Pierre Gramegna actively contributed to reaching landmark agreements on the introduction of the automatic exchange of information on tax rulings with EU member states, as well as on securitisation.
Pierre Gramegna puts particular emphasis on Luxembourg’s role in multilateral development banks. In 2014, Luxem-bourg became a member of the African Development Bank and, in 2015, Luxembourg was the first non-Asian country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. In May 2016, Pierre Gramegna was elected chair of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a one-year mandate. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the EIB and on that of the European Stability Mechanism. He is also Luxembourg’s governor to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.