As an entrepreneur, founder of consulting company Atoz and director and president of numerous companies (including PayPal Europe) Norbert Becker has a well-established reputation. In 2018, he topped Paperjam’s Top 100 of the most influential business movers and shakers in the grand duchy.
In January 2021, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse. Since June 2020, he has also been the president of the administration of the grand duke’s estate.
Nathalie Reuter: Mr Becker, from politics to business to your involvement in academia and philanthropy, you are an influential man in Luxembourg whose voice is heard. Since 1 January of this year, you have been a director of the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse. Who proposed you for this role, and why did you accept it?
Norbert Becker: I work closely with the grand duke and the grand duchess, who have many projects through the foundation. Of course, these projects must be financed, mainly by private donations. I am a businessman, so helping and supporting the foundation suits me particularly well.
I am very, very proud of the work of the foundation, especially when I see the projects led by its director general Mr [Philippe] Majerus. The grand duchess, as president of the foundation, is the driving force behind its initiatives. We could say that the grand duchess launches things and then Mr. Majerus picks up the ball and runs with it, taking care of the logistics, the organisation.
The foundation was established in 1981, 40 years ago. Its primary purpose is to support the most vulnerable. Is there more demand on their services in recent months due to the coronavirus crisis?
We are increasingly facing people who are falling through all the social safety nets that are put in place. This crisis will lead to situations where people will lose their jobs, will no longer be able to pay their debts, will be thrown out of their homes… We are preparing for serious cases of human despair and thinking about how we can help within our means, which are not unlimited.
You say that the funds of the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse are not unlimited. What are your resources?
We receive donations. Donors follow the projects we support, and we work with those donations. Obviously, a foundation of this nature never has enough money, ever! We appeal to all those who are sensitive to the realities of the most vulnerable to help us. Every euro counts.
How do people reach out to the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse?
The foundation never works alone. 65% to 70% of people who end up there do so via a social office. When the latter is not able to help because the problem does not correspond to its functions, and there is no other possible help via state or communal institutions, many social workers then direct people to us. In Luxembourg, we are the social office of desperate cases.
Sometimes people also turn to the foundation directly or directly to the grand duchess. She receives hundreds of letters every year. Then people thank her for her help. The grand duchess does not hesitate to pick up her phone to talk to them. She is rightly perceived as a grand duchess who shows an interest and who wants to help effectively.
Life through the prism of human dignity
Internationally, the foundation also contributes to development and humanitarian aid projects. On what criteria are these projects selected?
The grand duchess sees life through a prism: human dignity. She therefore grasps situations where there is despair and injustice. That then defines a project and moves forward. For example, since her first meeting in 1996 with Professor [Muhammad] Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Grameen Bank, a pioneering institution for microfinance in Bangladesh and around the world, the grand duchess has been an active ambassador of microcredit and microfinance, a powerful and recognised tool for women’s economic independence.
Following her humanitarian trip to Burundi in June 2009, the grand duchess also initiated the La Main Tendue project for the benefit of minor children imprisoned for crimes of common law. So, between 2010 and 2015, some 600 minors (all minors in prison in Burundi) were released and, via a psychosocial programme, prepared for integration into civil society. The types of projects are therefore very different, but at the base there is always human dignity and despair.
One of the biggest projects was the Stand Speak Rise Up! forum, which was hugely successful with some 1,500 participants. It gave a voice to four Nobel Laureates and 50 victims of sexual violence. From my point of view this forum has also shown another face of Luxembourg and has better situated our country on the map of the world in a different context than that of the economy. The grand duchess’s commitment has been recognised by multilateral organisations of global stature.
That is why, in order to be able to support these types of initiatives, I am very proud to be able to join the foundation’s board of directors.
In the Waringo report, and specifically in relation to the forum, one criticism was that the financial contribution of the state to the activities of the foundation was not clear. Does the desired reform of the grand ducal court bring more clarity?
The foundation is a totally independent institution, which does not receive support from the state, except for specific projects and following a specific request. Depending on the case, departments that have such a project under their control may decide to allocate support or subsidies.
With regard to Stand Speak Rise Up!, the request was specific and transparent. The government has made no comments or criticisms regarding the funding of this event. We obviously have a responsibility as a foundation to be correct on the numbers.
The Waringo report requested by the government certainly contributed to the reform of the monarchy. I come from the consulting profession, where I spent 40 years of my professional life. Normally, when an auditor’s or consultant’s report is conducted, it is done in a contradictory manner, that is to say that the author of the report prepares recommendations and submits them to the institution that it must reorganise. Then that institution responds, and the final report contains the recommendations of the consultant-auditor and the institution’s responses.
That was not the case here: Mr Waringo wrote his report and gave it to the prime minister. A report which then went to parliament, without the grand ducal court being able to take a position on the content or the ideas developed within it.
So, on the one hand, this report contributed to the reform of the grand ducal court and thanks to it we now have the grand ducal household and the property administration under a new regime. But, on the other hand, certain avenues mentioned in this report could have been discussed contradictorily, which would have avoided the way that some media reported only by criticising the monarchy and its management. All that is behind us, fortunately.
An investigation was opened on accusations of physical violence at the grand ducal court, which was closed by the prosecutor’s office. What sort of damage did the grand duchess suffer as a result of this affair? How can she restore her image?
The tendency of the media, and not only in Luxembourg but all over the world, when such a case arises, is to rush to the door to report what is happening right now. When the case is dismissed without further action, coverage by the same media is much more modest, even silent. The grand duchess was deeply wounded.
The press statement by the prosecutor’s office says that several people were heard, and that there was no reason to prosecute. However, it was enough for a journalist in a radio interview to say that there was alleged violence to start the fire. He even used the word “blows”. Can you imagine the grand duchess kicking her staff? That is totally insane! This case was dismissed without further action, but, indeed, the harm was done.
When he was heard by the court, the journalist invoked his right to protect his sources, as provided for in the law on freedom of expression in the media…
That is an essential part of democracy, so I will not criticise that. What I’m saying is that if we judge people, we cannot only do so by considering their weaknesses but on the whole. Each of us has flaws and qualities. As for the grand duchess, the sum of her qualities by far exceeds any weaknesses she may have. Today, at least, she is no longer involved in personnel management at all. All of that is behind us.
Through what I see--the work done through the foundation, what she has done in 40 years of marriage by supporting the grand duke…--has contributed greatly to the splendour and brilliance of a monarchy. The grand-ducal couple, in my opinion, have been faultless throughout.
Contribution to dynamics and development
Is the monarchy still useful to Luxembourg as a democracy?
Absolutely. I think that the sovereign has his place as the head of the state. With the reform, the grand ducal household [Maison du Grand-Duc], created under the aegis of the sovereign and led by the Marshal of the Court, is a modern institution with its own organisational chart, its own modes of operation, and whose staff is engaged under the regime of the civil service. The role of the parliamentary monarchy with centuries-old traditions remains important in our democracy and has served us well during different periods of crisis.
Let’s remember the Second World War, the support provided by Grand Duchess Charlotte, which has remained in the collective memory as a great achievement. So, the monarchy plays its full role.
I participated in several economic missions presided over by the grand duke. Luxembourg is welcomed by the heads of state as a great power. In Japan, the grand duke is received by the emperor, which is not the case for Emmanuel Macron.
At the seminar organised to present Luxembourg, its industry and its services, there were 10 times more participants than at the same French seminar which was held a few weeks before ours. The monarchy contributes greatly to the dynamics and development of the economy. It strengthens the perspective of entrepreneurs and investors. It strengthens their views on stability, outreach and history. For me as an entrepreneur I believe the monarchy is indispensable.
Appointments are always about personal connections. Did your appointment occur naturally, given your relationship with DP prime minister Xavier Bettel? Does the DP consider the grand ducal court to be a “self-service shop” in the words of recent criticism from the CSV?
Thank you for asking me this question, which is relevant. I confirm that I am a member of the DP. However, I was not appointed by the prime minister, but rather by the grand duke. Therefore, it cannot be said that the DP uses the grand ducal court as a “self-service”. There is no link.
The tasks of the administration of the grand duke’s property have been separated from those of the grand ducal household. What are its missions?
The property administration, an institution that dates back to the last century, must manage and administer the grand duke’s property. In its “old form” it was the employer of all grand ducal court staff before the grand ducal household took over. The “new regime” property administration now employs fewer than 10 people who are responsible for administration, asset management, domain management, real estate. We also deal with hunting and the private projects of the grand duke and the grand duchess. There is a strict separation between the official activity of the head of state and the private activities of the grand duke.
But we obviously work hand in hand with the grand ducal household. I am in contact with the maréchal to the court [lord chamberlain Yuriko Backes] almost every day and it goes very well.
No successions soon
There are many stories about the fortune of the Luxembourg royal family, which regularly features in the top 3 of the ranking of the richest monarchies in Europe. Is that the case?
No.
Can you tell us more in terms of the ranking?
No. I would not ask you what your personal fortune is, so the grand duke’s fortune remains private.
The grand ducal couple has just acquired an apartment in Biarritz. The crown prince seems ready to assume the task of his father. Do you think that his succession to the throne is being envisaged in the near future?
As far as I can judge, the grand duke is in great shape, in full health. He has not confided anything to in me in this regard. So, I don’t think it’s going to happen soon.
A more personal question: Is it difficult to fulfil your mission? We imagine that you do not always have free rein?
It’s an exciting and fascinating exercise. Every day is a mix of diplomacy, politics, financial management, people, projects. I like to give back to society what society gave me. Since I truly believe that the monarchy gives us so much, it is an honour and a privilege for me to serve it.
This article has been edited and translated from the original French, first published by Paperjam.