20 August 2012 Last updated at 10:06 ET

Luxembourg profile

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Head of state: Grand Duke Henri

Grand Duke Henri met his Cuban-born wife Maria Teresa in Geneva

The ruling Grand Duke of Luxembourg succeeded to the title in 2000, on the abdication of his father Jean. He had already exercised the constitutional powers of the monarch since 1998.

Born in 1955, the future Grand Duke Henri studied politics in Geneva, where he met his Cuban wife Maria Teresa. He later underwent officer training at Britain's Sandhurst Academy.

He and his wife have five children, the eldest of whom, Prince Guillaume, is the heir-apparent.

The head of state's constitutional role is largely ceremonial, and in 2008 parliament further restricted it by rescinding the monarch's right to veto legislation.

This came after Grand Duke Henri, a staunch Roman Catholic, threatened to withhold approval from a planned bill legalising euthanasia.

Prime minister: Jean-Claude Juncker

Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is a lawyer by training

Jean-Claude Juncker, of the conservative Christian Social Party, has been prime minister since 1995 when his predecessor, Jacques Santer, became president of the European Commission.

He carries on as premier in coalition with the Socialist Workers Party following general elections in June 2004. For the five years before that his party had formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party.

Jean-Claude Juncker was born in 1954 and is a lawyer by training.