Eugène Ruffy

Eugène Ruffy ( born August 2, 1854 in Lutry, † October 25, 1919 in Bern ) was a Swiss politician ( FDP) and lawyer. From 1882 to 1885 he was a member of the Parliament of the Canton of Vaud, after the Council of State, where he contributed significantly to the establishment of the University of Lausanne. Also in 1882 he was elected to the National Council. The end of 1893 he was elected to the Federal Council, where he served for six years. Subsequently, he was until his death Director of the Universal Postal Union. His father Victor Ruffy was 1868/69 also Bundesrat.

Biography

Professional and policy

When he was 13 years old, his father was elected to the state government, but died the following year. After graduating from high school in Lausanne, he joined the Lausanne Academy of Law to study. Further stations during his studies were Leipzig, Heidelberg and Paris. Membership in the left-liberal fraternity Helvetia shaped his political beliefs. In 1877 he graduated with a master's and started working as an intern in the office of Louis Ruchonnet. In 1880 he received the bar exam. Six years later he married the Frenchwoman Alice Mégroz, with whom he had nine children.

Luffy's political career began in 1882 when he was elected to the National Council and thereby took over the seat of the previously selected for Federal Ruchonnet. In the same year was also elected to the Grand Council (grand conseil ) of the Canton of Vaud. In the canton of Parliament to Luffy became a leading figure of the radical liberals. In 1885 he was elected to the Council of State of Vaud ( conseil d' état ​​), whereupon he took over the Education and Culture Department. In 1887, he was President of the Government. The most important event of his tenure was the 1890 founding of the University of Lausanne, which emerged from the old Academy.

Bundesrat

After the death of Federal Ruchonnet in September 1893 Luffy was nominated by the Vaud radicals for its successor. His candidacy met within the liberal- radical faction ( from the FDP formed in 1894 ) due in part to resistance. With the support of the liberal center and the Catholic Conservatives, he sat down on December 14, 1893 on the first ballot by and received 87 out of 148 valid votes. Until the election of Eveline Widmer -Schlumpf in 2007, he was thus the only descendant of a Federal Council, who was also elected to this office.

Luffy was first head of the Department of Justice and Police. In 1895 he moved to the Department of Home Affairs, which he directed until 1897. In 1898 he was President; in this capacity, he was on a rotating basis before the Political Department. In 1899 he took over the Military Department. As Minister of Justice he prepared the unification of criminal law. As interior minister, he advocated the introduction of a mandatory health and accident insurance on a federal level, but resisted calls for the introduction of a proportional representation electoral system.

Universal Postal Union

For private reasons Luffy entered by the end of 1899, surprisingly from the state government and took over a new role as Director of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union. He held this office until his death. For the 25th anniversary of the University of Lausanne in 1915 he received an honorary doctorate.