Stefano Franscini

Stefano Franscini ( born October 23, 1796 in Bodio, † July 19, 1857 in Bern, hometown entitled in Bodio ) was a Swiss politician, professor, writer and statistician. After twelve years a member of the government of the canton of Ticino, he was in 1848 elected as representatives of the liberal- radical faction (now the FDP) in the Federal Council. Franscini organized the first census of Switzerland and was instrumental in establishing the Federal Institute of Technology. In addition, its construction work was in the field of statistics, the basis for the foundation of the Federal Office of Statistics.

Biography

Youth and studies

Franscini came from a poor peasant family from Bodio in the lower Leventina. He received his first education in the neighboring village Personico on the free winter school of the parish priest. His family wished he struck the career of a priest. Therefore Franscini visited in 1808 the seminary in Pollegio and went to the 1815 Archbishop's Seminary in Milan. In 1819 he turned to religious subjects but not to and continued his education in history, law, economics, statistics and education. His living he earned as a teacher at various schools in Milan. With the Swiss geographer Gerold Meyer von Knonau he maintained a long-standing friendship letter.

Canton policy

In 1823 he married Teresa Massari, with whom he had two children. The following year he returned to Ticino. Franscini remained active as a teacher, wrote textbooks and published articles for the Gazzetta Ticinese. In 1826 he founded in Lugano with his wife, a school for mutual instruction after the Lancaster method, which aroused suspicion in conservative circles. Also for girls he offered to school. He also began publishing statistical works. In various writings Franscini denounced the miserable education and the reactionary political situation in the canton of Ticino. With an anonymously authored pamphlet, and especially as an editor of the Osservatore del Ceresio he campaigned for a constitutional revision in the liberal sense, which earned him an accusation of sedition trial.

In 1830, the liberal forces prevailed. Franscini was in the cantonal parliament, the Gran Consiglio elected, and also took over the office of the Secretary of State. 1831 his wife died, five years later, he married her sister Luigia Massari. For the Osservatore del Ceresio and the Repubblicano of Lugano, he continued his journalistic activity. From 1837 to 1845, and then again from 1847 to 1848 it belonged to the Consiglio di Stato, the cantonal government to. In between, he was again Secretary of State from 1845 to 1847. Franscini worked toward improving education and promoted trade and industry. In the years 1841, 1843, 1845 and 1846, he represented the canton of Ticino in the confederate hearing.

Bundesrat

After the victory of the liberal cantons in the federal battle and the entry into force of the new Constitution Franscini was elected to the National Council. On 16 November 1848, the Federal Assembly elected him to the Federal Council. In the third ballot Franscini received 68 of 132 votes cast, at least all federal councilors newly elected. Due to inadequate knowledge of German and his hearing he was in the state government as an outsider. Franscini received the Department of the Interior assigned, which then had only minor importance, since many domestic skills were still with the cantons.

1850 organized Franscini almost single-handedly the first Swiss census. Also the construction of the Bundesarchiv he pioneered. He drew up the legislation in the fields of agriculture, forestry and road construction. His project of a Federal University failed because of the particularity of the cantons. 1854 Franscini was confirmed only in the third ballot. In the same year he lost his seat in the National Council of the canton of Ticino, which he needed to continue to exercise his office as Federal. He remained the only reason in the Bundesrat, because the Canton of Schaffhausen offered him a seat.

Under the auspices Franscinis the Federal Institute of Technology in 1855 ( the former Polytechnic ) founded in Zurich. From 1856 he was a member of the Institut de France. In order to prevent the upcoming re-election another debacle, he announced at the end of 1857 to his resignation. A little later he died unexpectedly at the age of 60 years in office. The numerous statistical works Franscinis and its preparatory work in the legislation formed the basis for the establishment of the Federal Statistical Office in 1860.

Works

Statistica della Svizzera, Lugano 1827; 2nd edition, 1848-49, Supplement 1851
Della pubblica istruzione nel Cantone Ticino, Lugano 1828
Della riforma della Constituzione Ticinese, Zurich 1829
The canton of Ticino, historical- geographical- described statistically, St. Gallen 1835
Statistica della Svizzera italiana, Lugano 1837-1839
Overviews of the population of Switzerland, Bern 1851
Semplici verità ai Ticinesi sulle Finanze e su altri oggetti di ben pubblico, Lugano 1854
Storia della Svizzera italiana dal 1797 al 1802, compiled by Pietro Peri, Lugano 1864
Annali del Ticino cantone, ed. by G. Martinola, Bellinzona 1953

Film documentaries

The Swiss # Alfred Escher and Stefano Franscini - battle for the Gotthard, four -part documentary on Swiss television, 2013.

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