Adrien Lachenal

Adrien Lachenal ( born May 19, 1849 in Geneva, † June 29, 1918 in Versoix, hometown, right in Plan- les- Ouates ) was a Swiss lawyer and politician (FDP). From 1880 to 1892 he was a member of the Parliament of the Canton of Geneva, from 1881 to 1884 the Council of States. He was then the National Council and National Council President twice. In December 1892 he was elected to the Federal Council, where he served until 1899. In 1896 he was President. After his resignation from the state government he remained for nearly two decades politically active.

Biography

Professional and policy

The son of a bailiff studied law in Geneva, Paris and Heidelberg. In 1872 he graduated with licentiate and received in the same year the Geneva bar. In 1874 he was hired as a deputy prosecutor. This activity he held for four years and then opened his own law firm. In 1878 he married Anne Louise Eggly, with whom he had four children.

In court Lachenal stood out as outstanding speaker and defense lawyers, by defense mandates in sensational processes he gained notoriety. From 1885 to 1892 he was Assistant Judge at Geneva Cantonal Court. Lachenal was inducted into the Masonic Lodge " Fidélité et Prudence ", whose master he was from 1890 to 1893 and in 1900. His military career took him to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In addition, he was Chairman of the Military Court of Cassation.

1880 Lachenal was elected to the Grand Council (grand conseil ), where he served until 1892. Soon he was one of the most influential politicians of the radical faction (such as the left-liberals were called). By the time he waved over to a policy of reconciliation. His involvement in social policy eventually led to the formation of an alliance with the Socialists.

In 1881, the Great Council elected Lachenal in the Senate. In this he expressed, in particular, to topics in the areas of military, customs and finance. In 1884 he joined the National Council, in 1885 and 1891 he was the National President. It dealt mainly with the trademark protection, the extension of liability law as well as debt collection and bankruptcy law.

Bundesrat

After Numa Droz had announced his resignation, first was Gustave Ador as the most promising candidate to replace him, but he refused the nomination. On December 15, 1892, Lachenal sat in the first ballot clearly against Robert Comtesse through and got 139 out of 169 valid votes. At the beginning of 1893 he took over the Political Department. Like its predecessor Droz broke even Lachenal the then usual rotation principle, according to which the Minister of Foreign Affairs moved annually.

Lachenals most important task in the next four years were negotiations for a new commercial treaty with France. Because of disputes over tariffs, the trade relations were broken off in 1892 with the western neighbor, 1895, the conflict could be resolved. In addition, Switzerland established official diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, Japan, Norway, Romania, Spain and Tunisia. 1896 Lachenal was President and opened the National Exhibition in Geneva in this function.

Because of the reintroduction of the rotation principle Lachenal gave his post as foreign minister from 1897 and moved to the Commerce, Industry and Agriculture Department. In the years 1898 and 1899 he stood in front of the Department of Home Affairs. He drew up laws for health and accident insurance, also he campaigned for the unification of civil and criminal law, and the repurchase of the railways. For health reasons he gave on December 13, 1899 that he will retire at the end of the year known.

Other activities

Lachenal had been re-elected to the Senate in October 1899, where he remained until his death. From 1900 to 1913 he was represented for a second time at the Geneva Grand Council. At the national level, he campaigned for improvements in customs and trade legislation. In Geneva, he initiated the 1907 Act came into force on the separation of church and state. In addition, he served on the Board of the Swiss Federal Railways and the Commission of the Swiss National Museum.

He was also a member of it. A member of the academic community Belles Lettres and the Masonic Lodge Fidélité et Prudence