Antoine Louis John Ruchonnet (28 April 1834, in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
– 14 September 1893, 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 -century
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
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Other uses
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*Swiss Internation ...
attorney and politician. In 1864, he founded the Vaud Credit Union ().
Public service
He was first elected to public service as a deputy to the
Grand Council of Vaud
The Grand Council of Vaud (french: Grand Conseil de Vaud) is the legislature of the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years.
The last electi ...
in 1863, then twice to the
Lausanne Communal Council (1866–68, 1878–81).
On 10 December 1875 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 governme ...
for the canton of
Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
but declined to serve. He was elected again as Federal Counsellor on 3 March 1881 and this time accepted the position and died still in office on 14 September 1893. He served twice 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 ...
, first in 1883 and again in 1890. He was a unifying figure, along with his successor as Federal Counsellor for Vaud,
Eugène Ruffy
Eugène Ruffy (2 August 1854, in Lutry – 25 October 1919) was a Swiss politician.
He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 14 December 1893 and resigned on 31 October 1899. He was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party of Switzerlan ...
, in the
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
french: Parti radical-démocratique it, Partito Liberale Radicale rm, Partida liberaldemocrata svizra
, logo = Free Democratic Party of Switzerland logo French.png
, logo_size = 200px
, foundation =
, dissolution =
...
.
During his time in office he was responsible for the following
federal administrative departments:
*
Trade and Agriculture (since renamed Economic Affairs, Education and Research) - 1881
*
Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
- 1883
*
Justice and Police - 1882, 1884–93
Freemasonry
Ruchonnet was elected to serve as the first
Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of Liberty
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
() in Lausanne when it was chartered on 11 September 1871.
Likenesses and namesakes
''
Avenue Louis-Ruchonnet
Avenue or Avenues may refer to:
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* Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees)
* Avenue Road, Bangalore
* Avenue Road, L ...
'' in Lausanne is named after him and a bronze statue of him stands in the Old Town of Lausanne, erected in 1906. There is also an 1888 portrait of him by
Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Müller-Ury, KSG (March 29, 1862 – July 6, 1947) was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and impressionistic painter of roses and still life.
Heritage and early life in Switzerland
He was born Felice Adolfo Müller on 29 March ...
(1862-1947) in the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, gifted by his son Ernest in 1894.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
1834 births
1893 deaths
People from Lausanne
Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians
Foreign ministers of Switzerland
Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)
Members of the National Council (Switzerland)
Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland)
University of Lausanne alumni
{{Switzerland-politician-stub