Jakob Dubs

Jakob Dubs ( born July 26, 1822 in Affoltern am Albis, † 13 January 1879 in Lausanne) was a Swiss politician, journalist, prosecutor and judge.

After studying Dubs worked as Cantonal, Government, National Council and Council of States. 1861, the representatives of the liberal- radical faction (now the FDP) was elected to the Federal Council. In the years 1864, 1868 and 1870 he was President. Dubs back in 1872 occurred, but remained as National continues politically active. He fought successfully a centralized constitutional review process and was beyond the federal court to. Between 1866 and 1872 he was president of the " Hülfsvereins for Swiss military men and their families ," which later became the Swiss Red Cross was formed.

Biography

Family and studies

Dubs was born in Affoltern am Albis in the family of a butcher, who also worked as a host and postmaster. He attended high school in Zurich and then began the study of law, first at the University of Bern under William Snell, then. At the Ruprecht -Karls- University of Heidelberg, Carl Mittermaierstrasse In Heidelberg he became in 1842 a member of the Corps Helvetia. In 1843 he received his doctorate at the University of Zurich and three years later took a job as examining magistrate.

As a member of the fraternity Helvetia, the then collector tank of political radicalism in the Swiss Confederation, Dubs was involved early in the political events and was involved in the replacement of the loose confederation of states by a state Liberal form. Together with the poet Gottfried Keller 1845 he took on the second Freischarenzug against the conservative government of the canton of Lucerne in part, 1847 Dragoon sergeant at the federal battle.

After the early death of his first wife Franziska fighter (1825-1850) he married in 1856 Paulina Heitz ( 1837-1895 ), the daughter of a silk manufacturer from Stafa.

Professional and policy

Dubs in 1847 elected to the cantonal parliament, two years later, the choice was followed by the part-time prosecutor. He was instrumental in a new Penal Code and also devoted himself to legislation in the areas of schools, factories and church organization. Great attention was paid to Dubs as an editor of the Swiss republican and provincial deputies from Winterthur (then a liberal weekly paper ), for which he wrote numerous articles.

Dubs 1849 was elected to the National Council. In 1854 he managed, not least thanks to the support of the influential Alfred Escher, election to the Senate and the Zurich Cantonal Government. In the Senate, which he was Chairman in 1856, he presented himself as a representative of the liberal direction by Alfred Escher against the radical group led by Federal Councillor Jakob Stämpfli their approach at the Neuchâtel Trade (1856 /57) and the Savoyerhandel (1859 /60) he felt was too impetuous. In the canton of Zurich Dubs was involved as head of the Education Department in the drafting of the new Education Act of 1859. In addition, he had from 1854 to 1861 held the office of a part-time federal judge.

After Jonas Furrer's death Dubs was considered the leading candidate to replace him. Stämpfli Berner Zeitung launched a campaign against him and called Dubs ' possible choice as a "political mortal sin ", as Switzerland so in the Savoyerfrage " would accept the shameful injustice and speak strip apology ." But the attacks caused the opposite: On July 30, 1861, the United Federal Assembly elected him in the first ballot with 90 of 124 votes in the Bundesrat.

Bundesrat

During his tenure Dubs changed almost every year the department. As President he was in the years 1864, 1868 and 1870 - as was customary - the Political Department ( Ministry of Foreign Affairs ) before. From 1861 to 1863 and again in 1866 he led the Justice and Police, in the years 1867 and 1869, the Postal Department in 1865 and 1871 to 1872 the Department of Home Affairs.

In the center of his activity as a Federal focused above all on strengthening relations with neighboring states. 1864 closed Dubs a comprehensive trade treaty with France, 1868/69 with Italy, Austria - Hungary and the German Zollverein further contracts in the retail, office, post and telegraph traffic. In contrast to the opinion which he had represented as the Council of States, Dubs now advocated a much more active foreign policy. During the Franco-German War of 1870/71 he was planning the military occupation of Haute Savoie, although he had ten years earlier similar thoughts Games Stämpfli vehemently opposed. He also dealt in detail with the problem, the landlocked country Switzerland to secure access to port facilities by the sea and ships under its own flag (see Swiss high sea).

In the matter of railway construction Dubs tried to find a mediating role between supporters of a state line and full liberalization. The decision to Alpentransversale he wanted to leave Germany and Italy. Dubs, a staunch supporter of federalism, was considered by Stämpfli resignation in 1863 as a leading figure in the Bundesrat College. However, this changed in 1867 with the entry of Emil Welti, the partial revision of the Federal Constitution of 1866 had gone far enough and called for a far zentralistischeren state.

Dubs increasingly lost influence, rubbed in internal power struggles and finally declared in March 1872 for his resignation. The Federal Assembly has decided by 76 votes to 63, not to respond to his resignation. But Dubs stuck to his decision and pointed out that there was no consensus on important issues between him and the majority of the Parliament. On 28 May 1872 he handed over his office to Johann Jakob Scherer.

Other activities

Dubs led to the composed of Federalists from the French-speaking and Catholic Conservatives coalition that opposed the total revision of the Federal Constitution. The former feared a too centralized, while the latter is different embossed with the spirit of Kulturkampf provisions rejected. On May 12, 1872 just two weeks before the Dubs ' resignation from the Federal Council, the total revision in the popular vote with 50.5 % of the vote was rejected. In the subsequent parliamentary elections Dubs lost his seat in the National Assembly rather centralist Canton of Zurich, but was elected in the canton of Vaud.

He then founded a national- federalist party and brought out a battle sheet called The Confederation. The new party broke up in 1874 but the Kulturkampf and the different conceptions of the party goers. Since the second draft of a completely revised federal constitution again contained more federalist elements, he moved into the camp of supporters. The new constitution was adopted on 19 April 1874, a clear majority.

After the founding of Hülfsvereins for Swiss military men and their families in July 1866 at the Dubs next to the lawyers Gustave Moynier and General Guillaume -Henri Dufour was considerably involved, he took over the management of the club until 1872. Because of this later, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) was born, he is regarded as the first president in the history of the SRC. His successor in that office was Karl Schenk.

1875 Dubs was elected full-time federal judge, moved to Lausanne and in 1878 Vice- President of the Federal Court. He also advocated for the promotion of narrow gauge and regional trains in Switzerland. Shortly before his death at the age of 56, he published a popular scientific account of public law in Switzerland.