Henri Druey

Daniel -Henri Druey ( born April 12, 1799 in Clavaleyres, Canton of Vaud, † March 29, 1855 in Bern, also called Henri Druey ) was a Swiss lawyer, philosopher and politician. From 1831 he was one of the leaders in the canton of Vaud. In 1848 he was chosen as one of the first federal council of the Swiss Federal State. Druey belonged to the liberal- radical faction (now the FDP) and is considered the "father" of the Swiss Federal Constitution.

Biography

Studies and career

The son of a farmer from the nearby Lake Murten community Clavaleyres studied law at the academy in Lausanne. After he had passed the state exams in 1820, he moved to Berlin and studied at the Humboldt University philosophy under Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. In 1821 he joined the Tübingen Burschenverein and 1822 the Old Heidelberg fraternity. He completed his education in Paris, where he met figures such as François -René de Chateaubriand and Benjamin Constant. After a stay in England in 1826, he returned back to Lausanne and completed a Traineeship, 1828 Druey was admitted to the bar and opened a law firm in Moudon. In the same year he was elected to the cantonal parliament ( Grand Conseil ). From 1830 he worked as an appellation judge. In the same year he married Caroline Burnand, the couple remained childless.

Canton policy

After the takeover of the liberal forces in December 1830 and the enactment of a new constitution in May 1831 Druey was elected to the cantonal government ( Conseil d' État ), which he served until 1848. From 1832 he was the canton of Vaud envoy at the confederate hearing. Due to his radical ideas - so he demanded, among other things, the revision of the Federal Treaty of 1815 - joined by his government colleagues from 1833 to 1838 by the Diet. From 1839 to 1841 and from 1845 to 1847 he was represented in this body again.

About 1835 he co-founded and until 1839 the existing Swiss National association dedicated to Druey vain for the establishment of a Constitutional Council at national level. From 1836 he also headed the newspaper Nouvel list Vaudois, over which he spread his demand for individual freedoms. As chairman of the cantonal government, he reached in 1839 with a new church law, the subordination of the church to the state, also Druey was instrumental in the legislation in the areas of education, road and jurisdiction. Mitzuberücksichtigen With its concern that direct democracy or the right to work in the revision of the cantonal constitution in 1845, but he had no success. He also gained a reputation for being a communist, he came among other things for a progressive income tax and the conversion of presbyteries in care institutions.

Federal policy

After the victory of the liberal cantons in the federal battle Druey was elected late in 1847 as secretary of the Commission on Revision of the Federal Treaty and has been involved in this function intensively on the design of the Federal Constitution. Many of his ideas for a federalist state were considered. Although he would have preferred a parliament, which consisted of representatives of individual circles, but he accepted the converted ultimately modeled on the Constitution of the United States bicameral.

Since he was convinced that we have reached with the new Federal Constitution its goals, Druey wanted to retire from politics. He did not stand for the National Council and refused to accept his election to the Senate by the Vaud cantonal parliament. Due to his contributions in the drafting of the Federal Constitution but he was elected to the Federal Council on 16 November 1848 - against his will and in the absence, in which he received on the first ballot 76 of 132 votes cast. When he reached this message, it took the election of yet.

Bundesrat

Druey took over the Justice and Police, which he headed until 1849, and was the vice-presidents. As Minister of Justice he had to mainly deal with the problem of the thousands of refugees who had come to Switzerland after the failed liberal revolutions. Against the will of some State governments, he decided to expel several prominent political refugees, including Giuseppe Mazzini. Has been severely criticized his strictly neutral neutrality towards the European powers.

1850 Druey was President and as such was - as was customary - the Political Department ( Ministry of Foreign Affairs ) before. He proved to the European Great Powers diplomacy. For example, he resisted the attempt of Prussia to link the loss of the Canton of Neuchâtel with the refugee question. In addition, he was able to close a trade and settlement agreement with the U.S..

1851 was Druey before the Department of Finance and sat there the prepared by Josef Munzinger introduction of the Swiss franc by. In 1852 he headed a second time, the Justice and Police, in 1853 again the Department of Finance. Two weeks before his 56th birthday died Druey, who had begun a project to establish a Penal Code, at his workplace a stroke.