Gauthier Destenay

Gauthier Destenay
Destenay in 2015
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg
In office
15 May 2015 – 17 November 2023
Prime MinisterXavier Bettel
Preceded byChristiane Juncker
Succeeded byMarjolijne Frieden
Personal details
Born
Gauthier P. Destenay

(1979-09-21) 21 September 1979 (age 45)
Virton, Belgium
Political partyDemocratic Party
Spouse
​
(m. 2015)​
Residence(s)Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Alma materUniversity of Liège

Gauthier Christian Destenay (born 21 September 1979) is a Belgian architect who is the husband of former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel.

Personal life

Gauthier Destenay as First Gentleman with Queen Mathilde of Belgium and the First Ladies on the NATO members meeting, Royal Castle of Laeken.

Destenay is from Belgian Luxembourg and has been working as an associate architect at Belgian-Luxembourg firm A3 Architecture since 2013. He graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Liège in 2003.[1][2][3]

Bettel came out publicly as gay in 2008. Destenay has been in a civil union with Bettel since 2010 and appeared along with Bettel at many official events, including the Wedding of Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy.

Destenay asked for Bettel's hand in marriage in August 2014. They were married on 15 May 2015 in a private ceremony officiated by Luxembourg city mayor Lydie Polfer in the presence of around 250 guests. Bettel became the first European Union head of government to marry a same-sex partner.[1] The wedding was also attended by Elio Di Rupo, the former Belgian Prime Minister who was the European Union's first openly gay head of government. The ceremony was followed by a reception for 500 guests at the Cercle-Cité.[4][5][6]

Destenay gained attention on social media when he appeared as the only male spouse in a group portrait of world leaders' spouses and partners at the 2017 NATO summit. Destenay's name was omitted from the caption of a Facebook photo posted by the White House, even though all the other spouses were correctly labeled. The post was subsequently edited after it led to criticism and accusations of homophobia.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Luxembourg's prime minister first EU leader to marry same-sex partner". The Guardian. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Gauthier Destenay: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  3. ^ "A3 Bureau". A3 Architecture. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Luxembourg PM first gay EU leader to marry". The Express Tribune. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Xavier Bettel and Gauthier Destenay say 'I do'". Luxemburger Wort. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Luxembourg's Prime Minister has just married his boyfriend". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Why this photo of political spouses and partners is making waves". CNN. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Why Gauthier Destenay is making headlines". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  9. ^ Schaverien, Anna (28 May 2017). "White House accused of homophobia after Luxembourg PM's husband omitted from photo caption". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.