Hans Schaffner (16 December 1908, in Interlaken – 26 November 2004 in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

) was a

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politician and

member of the Swiss Federal Council Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(1961–1970). He grew up as the son of Robert Schaffner, head judge in Interlaken, and Margaretha (born Abplanalp), a teacher. After his legal studies at the

University of Bern 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 compreh ...

he was made a court scribe at the supreme court of the Canton of Bern in 1934, and three years later, he married his wife Ruth Rudolf, a lawyer herself. He was elected to the

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

on 15 June 1961 and handed over office on 31 January 1970. He is affiliated to the

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

. After receiving a degree in law, he entered the federal civil service as the head of the Division in charge of wartime economy (1941). In 1954, he became Director of the Trade Division of the Economic Affairs Department. With the president of the Board of Trade Reginald Maudling, he was during a meeting of non EEC countries in the Alabama Room in Geneva, one of the initiators of the European Free-Trade Association (EFTA) in December 1958. During his time in office he headed up the Department of Economic Affairs and was

President of the Confederation The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head of Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council, the country's executive branch. Elected by t ...

in 1966. During that year, Switzerland became a member of GATT. He prepared measures in favour of agriculture, a new law about labour relations and measures against inflation. After retirement, he held positions in several Boards of directors (

Sandoz Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

Rieter Rieter is a producer of textile machinery based in Winterthur, Switzerland. History Founded in 1795 by Johann Jacob Rieter (1762–1826), the company initially produced textile products. In 1806, as Napoleon imposed the Continental Blockade t ...

, Câbleries de Cossonay). He fought for liberal and free-trade values.

References

External links

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Eulogy by Jean-Philippe Maitre, President of the National Council
1908 births 2004 deaths People from Interlaken Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Aargau politicians University of Bern alumni {{Switzerland-politician-stub