50 Years of Voluntary Military Service in Luxembourg

To the right: Grand Duke Henri's portrait in right-facing profile; to the left: the logo-style inscription "50 Joer Fräiwëllegen-Arméi". Above, flanked by the mintmark and the mintmaster's initials: the year "2017". In the lower field: the issuing state "LËTZEBUERG".

In 2018 a retrospective set was issued comprising the Luxembourg €2 commemorative coins of 2016–2018 (LU-16 G2, LU-17 G2, LU-17 G4, LU-18 G3, LU-18 G6) with the 2018 mintmarks.

Luxembourg is one of the few European states that, in the 20th century, dispensed entirely with a professional standing army in favour of voluntary military service. The Volunteer Army of Luxembourg - Armée luxembourgeoise - was converted to a purely voluntary basis in 1967 following the abolition of general conscription, an unusual step for Western Europe at the time. The Grand Duchy, one of the smallest NATO member states by area, thereby developed a security policy tradition of its own, built on professionalisation and the individual commitment of its soldiers. The shift from conscription to a volunteer army also reflected the broader social changes in post-war Luxembourg, which transformed from an iron and steel location into one of Europe's wealthiest states.

Despite its small size, the Luxembourg army takes part in international missions - for instance under NATO or the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy - and is regarded as a professionally trained force. Today it comprises several hundred active soldiers, supplemented by reserve units. The voluntary nature of military service is not merely an organisational feature but also an expression of Luxembourg's self-image as a small, neutral actor with clear alliance commitments. To mark the 50th anniversary of the volunteer army, Luxembourg issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2017 recalling this milestone in security policy.