The family of de Weck (until 1782 Weck) of

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

features prominently in the political and military history of Switzerland. Since the 15th century, de Wecks have served in all leading political offices of the country except that of

Federal Councillor The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state ...

History

The family was founded in the 14th century by the messenger Pierre du Borjat, called Cugnyet, who became a citizen of Fribourg in 1507 and Germanized his name to Weck. By the 1520s, the Wecks were numerously represented in the city's governing bodies. Many served in the armies of France and of other European countries. A Protestant Bernese branch became extinct in the 17th century. In 1782, the Wecks obtained the right to use the

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular p ...

, ''de'', underlining their position as part of Fribourg's patriciate. In the 19th and 20th century, de Wecks occupied senior positions in government, the military and other public positions, including six times the office of Councillor of State (member of the cantonal government) of Fribourg. The family built and still owns several

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s. Many de Wecks now work in the legal profession.

Notable de Wecks

* Rudolf Weck (1582/83–1655), soldier, politician and diplomat * Dominique Weck (1666–1731), Jesuit priest and professor of philosophy * Niklaus Weck (1729–1801), general and politician * Rodolphe de Weck (1784–1858), Councillor of State * Louis de Weck-Reynold (1823–1880), Councillor of State * Rodolphe de Weck-Bussy (1826–1861), Councillor of State * Charles de Weck (1837–1931), Councillor of State * Ernest de Weck (1860–1919), mayor of Fribourg, member of the Council of States * Louis de Weck (1867–1916), Councillor of State * Antoinette de Weck-de Boccard (1868–1956), painter and illustrator * Eugène de Weck (1872–1912), painter * René de Weck (1887–1950), Swiss ambassador to Romania * Bernard de Weck (1890–1950), Councillor of State, member of the Council of States * Edmond de Weck (1901–1977), footballer, member of the Swiss national team * Philippe de Weck (1919–2009), CEO and president of

UBS UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

Alain de Weck Alain L. de Weck, (July 26, 1928 – April 8, 2013), was a Swiss immunologist and allergist.''World Who’s Who in Science''. 1968, p. 454. His main scientific contributions were in the area of characterization and prevention of drug allergy. He ...

(1928–2013), Professor of Immunology and Allergy at the

University of Berne The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a comp ...

Roger de Weck Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

(b. 1953), Director-General of the

Swiss Broadcasting Corporation The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (german: Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft; french: Société suisse de radiodiffusion et télévision; it, Società svizzera di radiotelevisione; rm, Societad Svizra da Radio e Televisiun; SRG ...

Olivier de Weck Olivier L. de Weck (born 1968) is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has authored and co-authored more than 400 peer ...

(b. 1968), Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

* Olivia de Weck, vice president of the gun rights advocacy group

ProTell ProTell (formally: "The Society for Liberal Weapons Rights") is a Swiss gun-rights advocacy group based in Bern, Switzerland. The association was founded in 1978 with the purpose of defending the right of law-abiding citizens to carry arms, an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weck, de People from Fribourg Swiss noble families