The Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents () or Farmers', Traders' and Citizens' Party (, BGB) was a Swiss political party founded in 1936. It grew out of a merger between various farmers’ parties at canton level which had been established during the First World War (Zurich 1917 and Bern 1918). In November 1917, Rudolf Minger set up the Bern Party of Farmers and Independents (Bernischen Bauern- und Bürgerpartei, BGB) following a meeting held at an assembly hall in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

known as the See Simple English Wikipedia article his party was first represented in the Federal Council of the cantonal government from 1929 to 1940. Like Minger himself, all the party's other Federal Councillors came from the canton of Bern:

Eduard von Steiger Adolf Eduard von Steiger (; 2 July 1881 – 10 February 1962) was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as the 51st President of the Swiss Confederation twice in 1945 and 1951 for Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents (presently known as ...

(1941–51),

Markus Feldmann Markus Feldmann (21 May 1897, in Thun, Canton of Bern – 3 November 1958, in Bern) was a Swiss politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council (1951–1958). He was elected to the Federal Council on 13 December 1951 and died in office on 3 No ...

(1952–58),

Friedrich Traugott Wahlen Friedrich Traugott Wahlen (10 April 1899, in Mirchel, Canton of Bern – 7 November 1985, in Bern) was a Swiss agronomist and politician. During the Second World War, he was responsible of the Swiss programme to reduce food imports and increa ...

(1959–65) and

Rudolf Gnägi Rudolf Gnägi (3 August 1917 – 20 April 1985) was a Swiss politician who was President of the Swiss Confederation in 1971 and 1976 and a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1966 to 1979. Career He was elected to the Federal Council of S ...

(1966–79). However, Bern was not the only canton in which the party was represented: it also existed in the cantons of Aargau, Baselland, Freiburg, Schaffhausen, Tessin, Thurgau, Waadt and Zürich. In 1971, the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents combined with the Democratic Party of the cantons of Glarus and Graubünden to form the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

. The SVP inherited the BGB's seat on the Federal Council.

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The above is a translation from the German Wikipedia at :de:Bauern-, Gewerbe- und Bürgerpartei {{DEFAULTSORT:Party Of Farmers, Traders And Independents Defunct agrarian political parties Conservative parties in Switzerland National conservative parties Nationalist parties in Switzerland Political parties established in 1936 Political parties in Switzerland Right-wing populism in Switzerland Swiss nationalism

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