Early Political Career
Juncker returned to Luxembourg, and his oratorical skills earned him a promotion to the position of Parliamentary Secretary. He earned election to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg for the first time in 1984 and immediately took the office of Minister for Labour under Jacques Santer. This led to a chairpersons' role at a number of meetings of the Council of the European Communities, where Juncker's pro-Europe credentials first emerged.
Shortly before the 1989 election, Juncker was seriously injured in a road traffic accident, spending two weeks in a coma. He nonetheless recovered in time to be returned to the Chamber of Deputies once more, picking up the Finance portfolio along with his Ministry of Labour post. The Ministry of Finance post is traditionally seen as a rite of passage to the premiership of the country, and his eventual promotion to Prime Minister seemed at this time inevitable, with political commentators concluding that Santer was grooming Juncker as his heir. Juncker at this time accepted the position of Governor of the World Bank.
Read more about this topic: Jean-Claude Juncker
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