Jean-Claude Juncker (born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgian politician, the leader of the Christian Social People's Party. He is the incumbent Prime Minister of Luxembourg, having succeeded Jacques Santer on January 20, 1995. He is also currently Luxembourg's Minister for Finances, a position that he has held since 14 July 1989. He has served two six-month terms as President of the European Council in 1997 and 2005.

Juncker was born in Redange and spent most of his childhood in Belvaux. His father had fought in World War II after being forcibly recruited into the Wehrmacht, and was a steelworker and a member of the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions. Juncker studied at Clairefontaine in Belgium before returning to Luxembourg to attain his baccalaureate in the Lycée Michel Rodange. Around that time, in 1974, he joined the Christian Social People's Party. Juncker went on to study law at the University of Strasbourg, attaining a Master of Law degree in 1979. Although he was sworn into the Luxembourg Bar Council in 1980, he never practised as a lawyer.

Juncker returned to Luxembourg, and his oratory 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.