Karl Schenk

Johann Karl ( also: Carl ) Emmanuel Schenk ( born December 1, 1823 in Bern, † July 18, 1895 ) was a Swiss politician. After his theological studies he worked as a Reformed pastor. Schenk turned, although he belonged to the tradition-bound clergy, liberalism and took part in the second Freischarenzug and at the federal battle. In 1855 he was elected to the government of the canton of Bern, 1856 in the Senate. From 1864 to his death, he was a representative of the liberal- radical faction (now the FDP ) to the Federal Council. He was also six times President. His term of more than 31 years, the longest of all federal councils. From 1873 to 1882 he served as president of the beyond " Hülfsvereins for Swiss military men and their families ," later the Swiss Red Cross emerged from the.

Biography

Teens

Karl Schenk was born as one of fourteen children of originating from Signau im Emmental inventor Christian Schenk. His mother Verena died when he was six years old. In 1832 his father sent him to Korntal in the Kingdom of Württemberg in a run of Pietist boarding. Two years later, Schenk was an orphan. In Korntal he received a humanistic education with foreign languages. During a school trip, which led to the foot of the Alps to Venice, Schenk discovered his passion for hiking; other hobbies were drawing and painting. As a 14 - year-old he went on foot to Couvet and visited his brother Rudolf, who owned a machine shop there. The following year, Schenk took with school friends further migration to Venice, where brother Fritz worked as a caster.

After the confirmation Schenk returned back to Bern in 1839 and attended high school. In 1842 he graduated from the Matura. In the summer of this year he took another long walk, which took him over the Simplon Pass to Genoa and Florence. About Venice, South Tirol and Churchill he came back home. At the University of Bern, he studied theology and philosophy. During his studies, Schenk became interested in politics and came up with liberal- radical ideas in contact. In 1845 he participated as a flag-bearer of the student corps on the second Freischarenzug.

Professional and policy

In the same year Schenk placed after six semesters from the state exam and took his first job in the church service, as vicar in Schüpfen. In 1846 he publicly came to radicalism. He founded non-profit associations and created training opportunities, which he was known and loved far beyond Schüpfen addition. In 1848 he married the teacher Elise Kähr, the sister of a friend from college days. The marriage produced nine children were born, two of whom died as infants. In the same year he took over after the death of his predecessor, the Office of the pastor and was involved as a chaplain at the federal battle.

Schenk was the staff, led by Jakob Stämpfli Berner Zeitung. Beginning in 1855 spoke to him Stämpfli on a possible candidacy for the government of the canton of Bern. Since Schenk entered for the balance between radicals and conservatives, he was in both political camps as an acceptable candidate and was elected on 23 March 1855 in the Government by the Grand Council. In April, he gave his last sermon in Schüpfen and moved to Bern.

As Councillor Schenk took over the responsibility for poor relief, which represented at that time one of the most pressing political issues at all. The blight had led to numerous crop failures, ruled by the increasing industrialization of agriculture labor shortage, the hand-weaving industry had collapsed, and the mercenary services had been banned. The mass of the poor became increasingly deported from the cities to their home communities, which drove many cash-strapped communities in the country almost to ruin. Schenk ordered the arms being completely new. The costs were newly settled inhabitants of the communities, and the Canton took over the institutions for the poor.

1856 Schenk was also elected to the Senate and thus was politically active at the federal level. For his achievements in poverty research, he was awarded in 1859 by the University of Bern honorary doctorate. In 1862 he became seriously ill and had for six months in the cure, first in Montreux in Montreux, then in white castle in the Simmental. On December 7, 1863 Schenk was elected Senate president, just five days later, the election was followed in the Bundesrat. On January 1, 1864, he succeeds Jakob Stämpfli.

From 1873 to 1882 Schenk led in succession by Jakob Dubs as president in 1866, founded the " Hülfsverein for Swiss military men and their families ," a precursor of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC ).

Bundesrat

Karl Schenk stood with the exception of a few years during almost his entire term of office of the Department of Home Affairs before whose remit is extended more and more with the increasing centralization of the country. He was responsible for the promotion of art and culture, the ultimate supervision of the Polytechnic Institute (now ETH Zurich ), statistics, railways and other infrastructure projects, archives and libraries, forestry, agriculture, and property of the Federation.

When major construction project at that time, a railway line through the Alps, Schenk advocated the Gotthard Railway. But he was initially overruled by his Federal colleagues who preferred two lines over the Simplon Pass and the Lukmanierpass. Under the influence of Alfred Escher but finally sat through the Gotthard line. In the partial revision of the Federal Constitution in 1866 Schenk sat by the emancipation of the Jews, but failed with the standardization of weights and measures. In the years 1865, 1871, 1874, 1878 and 1885, Schenk served as Federal President. As such, he was, as was customary, automatically the Political Department before and was thus Foreign Minister. Shortly before his second term as President, died in December 1870, his wife Elise. 1872 took over Schenk for a year the chair of the Department of Finance.

Also known as a Federal Councillor took Schenk always time for his favorite pastime, hiking. In the summer of 1872 he moved with his sons from Lake Geneva over Grenoble to Marseille. On the way he was arrested by French police officers for " vagrancy ", but was released when he showed his diplomatic identity card shamed the prefect. Back it went on foot through Genoa, Milan and the Grimsel Pass into the Bernese Oberland. In Interlaken, he learned the rosette angel widow, whom he married the following year.

From 1875 to 1877 Schenk took over the management of the railway and trading departments. In this period, the foundation of the Gotthard Railway Company and the construction of the Gotthard tunnel fell. He contributed significantly to overcome the financial crisis that was caused by the massive cost overruns in the construction of the Ticino valley railways, and was able to set a new Factory Act.

Since 1879 Schenk again directed the Department of the Interior. He created the alcohol law and was instrumental in establishing the Swiss National Museum and the Swiss National Library. He did not succeed, however, in the unification of the elementary schools in Switzerland and in the introduction of Impfzwangs, both of which were rejected by the people in 1882.

When he wanted to give the morning of July 8, 1895 at the bear pit a deaf-mute beggar alms, Schenk was hit by an approaching carriage and suffered while such a severe concussion that he no longer regained consciousness and died ten days later. Schenk was buried in the cemetery Bremgarten.