Why people are loving this 'normal looking' photo of two world leaders meeting

It depicts the gay prime minister of Luxembourg and his husband meeting the lesbian prime minister of Serbia and her partner.

Xavier Bettel and Ana Brnabić.

Luxembourg's prime minister Xavier Bettel and Serbia's prime minister Ana Brnabić. Source: Twitter

A photograph of two world-leaders meeting has been celebrated on social media, with some saying it represents the growing presence of LGBTIQ+ people in politics.

The photo, shared on Twitter, depicts Luxembourg's gay prime minister Xavier Bettel and Serbia's lesbian prime minister Ana Brnabić - together with their husband and partner, respectively.

The leaders reportedly met on September 8 to discuss Serbia’s proposed accession to the EU.

Bettel, who was elected prime minister back in 2013, was only the third ever openly gay world leader at the time. After his government introduced marriage equality in 2015, he married architect Gauthier Destanay.
Although Brnabić, who was elected in 2017, has stated that she doesn't want to be known as “Serbia’s gay PM”, the optics of this image - two world leaders with their respective partners - will no doubt be an inspiring image for many of the LGBTIQ+ community.

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By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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