The Servais Ministry was in office in Luxembourg from 3 December 1867 to 26 December 1874. It was reshuffled four times.
Composition
3 December 1867 to 30 September 1869
Emmanuel Servais: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Édouard Thilges: Director-General for Communal Affaires Henri Vannerus: Director-General for Justice Jean Colnet d'Huart: Director-General for Finance
30 September 1869 to 12 October 1869
Emmanuel Servais: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs, provisionally also for Finances Édouard Thilges: Director-General for Communal Affaires Henri Vannerus: Director-General for Justice
12 October 1869 to 7 February 1870
Emmanuel Servais: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Édouard Thilges: Director-General for Communal Affaires Henri Vannerus: Director-General for Justice Georges Ulveling: Director-General for Finance
7 February 1870 to 25 May 1873
Emmanuel Servais: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Henri Vannerus: Director-General for Justice Georges Ulveling: Director-General for Finance Nicolas Salentiny: Director-General for the Interior
25 May 1873 to 26 December 1874
Emmanuel Servais: Minister of State, head of government, Director-General for Foreign Affairs Henri Vannerus: Director-General for Justice Nicolas Salentiny: Director-General for the Interior Victor de Roebe: Director-General for Finance
Foreign policy
The Treaty of London of 1867 required Luxembourg to demolish its fortress, and declared it a neutral state. This was a solution to the Luxembourg Crisis, which had almost led to war between France and Prussia.
The Servais government had to carry out the stipulations of the treaty, and bear its costs. Demolishing the fortifications took until 1883, and cost 1,798,000 francs. The sale of the land to private individuals only covered part of the costs, and this was a massive drain on the state's budget. A government commission planned the expansion of the city now that it was no longer constrained by the fortress, with new avenues and boulevards and a green belt of parks.
The law of 1868 created a Luxembourgish corps des chasseurs, to maintain security and order. It was composed of 19 officers and 587 non-commissioned officers and men
Compliance with the Treaty obligations did not shelter Luxembourg from another international crisis. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and several incidents threatened the country's neutrality. The population was openly on the side of the French, and the employees of the Compagnie de l'Est supplied the Thionville garrison via a train departing from Luxembourg. Though this was not approved by the government, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck let it be known that the Prussian military would no longer feel bound by the Grand Duchy's neutral status. Another foreign occupation seemed imminent, and Servais vigorously refuted the Prussian allegations. In the end, after the French defeat, the newly created German Empire contented itself with control of the Luxembourgish railways. The French railways were forced to cede control of the Luxembourg railway network to the Germans. The Luxembourgish government had not been asked, and was opposed to this.
Domestic policy
The dissolution of the German Confederation after the Austro-Prussian war of 1866 allowed the Servais government in Luxembourg to turn its back on the German political model that had been imposed by the coup d'état of 1856, and to undertake a revision of the constitution. The resulting constitution of 1868 was a compromise between the republican text of 1848, and the monarchist charter of 1856. Ministerial responsibility and the annual vote on taxes were re-introduced. The Constitution guaranteed basic civil liberties such as freedom of the press and freedom of association again. At the same time, the sovereign retained several important prerogatives. After 1848, the government and the legislature had often locked horns over constitutional questions: the constitution of 1868 re-established a certain equilibrium between these two institutions.