Johann Karl Emmanuel Schenk (1 December 1823 – 18 July 1895) was a Swiss pastor, politician, and member of 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 ...

from 1863 until his death in 1895. Serving for , he was the longest-serving member in the Federal Council. Later in life he became one of the first leaders of the Swiss Red Cross.

Life and work

Schenk was born in 1823 in Bern, Switzerland, as the son of Christian Schenk. At the age of eleven, he became an orphan and lived in Korntal (Germany). From 1839 to 1842 he attended school in Bern and then studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He completed his studies at the age of 22. In 1845 he became vicar and later pastor at

Schüpfen Schüpfen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Schüpfen is first mentioned in 1208 as ''Scuphon''. Prehistoric traces of a settlement in the area include Mesolithic and Bron ...

. In 1848, he married Elise Kähr. The couple had nine children, two of which died at young age. He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 12 December 1863 and died in office 31 years later, on 18 July 1895. He was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. During his time in office he held the following departments: *

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

(1864) * Political Department (Foreign ministry) as

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 ...

(1865) *

(1866 - 1870) *Political Department as President of the Confederation (1871) *

(1872) * Department of Finance (1872) *

(1873) *Political Department as President of the Confederation (1874) * Department of Railway and Trade (1875 - 1877) *Political Department as President of the Confederation (1878) *

(1879 - 1884) *Political Department as President of the Confederation (1885) *

(1886 - 1895) He was

six times in 1865, 1871, 1874, 1878, 1885 and 1893. Schenk also served as President of the Swiss Red Cross from 1873–1882.

Death and legacy

Schenk died 1895 in Bern, and was buried at Bremgartenfriedhof. The local museum of

Langnau im Emmental Langnau im Emmental is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is situated in the upper Emmental between Bern and Lucerne. It has about 9,000 inhabitants and is the most important ...

"Chüechlihus" includes a section on him. ''Schenkstrasse'' in Bern is named after him. Further, the house at Spitalgasse 4 in the city of Bern is named ''Karl-Schenk-Haus'' and its passage ''Karl-Schenk-Haus-Passage'' or ''Karl-Schenk-Passage''.

References

External links

* * * * * 1823 births 1895 deaths People from Bern Swiss Calvinist and Reformed ministers Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Foreign ministers of Switzerland Finance ministers of Switzerland Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland) University of Bern alumni {{Switzerland-politician-stub

Life and work

Death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links