Louis Ruchonnet

Antoine Louis John Ruchonnet ( born April 28, 1834 in Lausanne, † September 14, 1893 in Bern, hometown entitled in Saint- Saphorin, usually called Louis Ruchonnet ) was a Swiss politician and lawyer.

In addition to his legal work, he devoted himself to promoting business. From 1863 to 1868 and from 1874 to 1881 he was a member of the Great Council, the cantonal parliament of the canton of Vaud. In between, he was from 1868 to 1874 the State Council. Ruchonnet was from 1866 also a member of the National Council and presided over this twice.

After Ruchonnet had 1875 election to the Federal Council still refused, he was representing the liberal- radical faction (now the FDP) as the successor to Fridolin Anderwert elected in 1881. Until his death, he stood with the exception of one year before the Justice and Police Department and gave the impetus for numerous legislative process, of which the debt collection and bankruptcy law is the most important. 1883 and 1889 he was President.

Biography

Studies and career

Ruchonnets father was a fencing master, his mother came from England. After attending high school Louis Ruchonnet studied from 1850 Law at the Academy of Lausanne. In the same year he joined the fraternity Belles Lettres and the Helvetia, which he chaired in 1854. In 1856 he completed his studies with a master, two years later, he admitted to the Bar. 1857 Ruchonnet refused the offer to take over the Chair of Civil Law in Lausanne. At the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival 1855, he won the first prize in the epee and saber fencing. In the army he rose to become captain of artillery.

1859 opened Ruchonnet for an internship in London, a law firm in Lausanne. Two years later he married Gabrielle Rogivue, a granddaughter of Ignaz Troxler, who gave birth to two sons. After her death he married in 1874 with Elise Borgognon. In addition to his work as a lawyer, he devoted himself particularly to the economic development. He was president of the Lausanne trade and industry association and founded two banks, the Union Vaudoise de Crédit and the Caisse populaire which covered the needs of traders and workers. Ruchonnet belonged to the left wing of the Liberals, but also stand the ideas of Grütlivereins close. In 1867 he participated in the Congress of the First International in part, he rejected communism but chose from. In 1868 he founded the newspaper La Revue.

Political career

Although he was not a candidate, Ruchonnet in 1863 elected to the Grand Council (grand conseil ), because his political beliefs and his conciliatory nature met with approval. In 1868 he was elected to the Council of State ( Conseil d'Etat ). In the Canton government, he was responsible for Education and Culture Department. He designed the Education of the Canton of Vaud in order at all levels and initiated the first steps a to raise the Lausanne Academy in the status of a university.

1872 led Ruchonnet half a year temporarily the Military Department, 1873 he was President of the Government. In 1874 he resigned as State and continued his political career as a member of the Grand Council and Parliament continued Lausanne community. He also led his firm further, which became the most prestigious of the entire canton. To Ruchonnets interns included two cabinet ministers later, Marc -Emile Ruchet and Eugène Ruffy.

From 1866 belonged Ruchonnet also the National Council, 1869 and 1874/75 he was a National President. In the debates on the total revision of the Federal Constitution, he advocated for federalism. He was one of the main opponents of centralized draft Constitution of 1872, which was narrowly rejected by the people. Subsequently, he was involved in the drafting of the successful constitutional revision of 1874. In the railway policy he campaigned for the construction of the Simplon Tunnel and fought the Gotthard Railway.

Bundesrat

On December 10, 1875 Ruchonnet was elected by the United Federal Assembly in the Bundesrat, but he refused to accept the election; instead Numa Droz took a seat in the state government. Six years later, on February 22, 1881, Karl Hoffmann rejected the election, after which Ruchonnet could be convinced of a new Federal candidacy. On 3 March 1881 he received the first ballot 102 of 161 valid votes, he received support from across the political spectrum except the Catholic Conservatives.

First Ruchonnet stood before the Trade and Agriculture Department. In 1882 he took over the Department of Justice and Police. In 1883, he was President and thus - the former practice accordingly - even temporarily head of the Political Department. During his Präsidialjahres he brought the negotiations on the creation of the Diocese of Lugano to completion. He also carried out the official opening of the first National Exhibition in Zurich.

1884 moved back to Ruchonnet Justice and Police. The most pressing problem was the creation of a single federal law, which was in 1874 made ​​necessary by the adoption of the new Constitution and was intended to replace the various cantonal laws. 1885 took Ruchonnet his most important project in attack, the debt collection and bankruptcy law. After lengthy deliberations in Parliament, it was adopted on 17 December 1889 in a referendum and set at the beginning of the year 1892 in force. Other important legislative procedure involved the creation of a permanent federal prosecutor (1889 ), the civil relations of Practising (1891 ) and the reorganization of the Federal Court (1893 ).

Ruchonnet, who belonged to the Masonic Lodge since 1862 Espérance et cordialité was in 1887 appointed commander of the Great Scottish Rite. In 1889 he was for the second time President; but since Numa Droz had broken through the previous rotation principle and Foreign remained Ruchonnet did not change the department. In 1890 he was elected vice-president of the pacifist Association International Arbitration and Peace Association. In 1893, he died of a heart ailment during a meeting in Bern.