The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

located in

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 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit

Peter Canisius Peter Canisius ( nl, Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Swit ...

founded the

Collège Saint-Michel Collège Saint-Michel (German: Kollegium St. Michael) is a Gymnasium school located in Fribourg, Switzerland. It was established in 1582 by the Jesuit order as a boys' school. Personalities Rectors * Pierre Michel (1582–1888) * Jean- ...

in the City of

. In 1763, an academy of law was founded by the state of Fribourg which formed the nucleus of the present Law Faculty. The University of Fribourg was finally created in 1889 by an Act of the parliament of the Swiss

Canton of Fribourg The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg (french: Canton de Fribourg ; german: Kanton Freiburg ; frp, Canton de Fribôrg rm, Chantun Friburg it, Canton Friburgo) is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French ...

. The University of Fribourg is Switzerland's only bilingual university and offers full curricula in both French and German, two of Switzerland's national languages. Students number about 10,000; there are about 200 tenured professors and 700 other academic teaching and research personnel. The Misericorde Campus, constructed between 1939 and 1942, was designed by the architects Honegger and Dumas, students of Swiss architect

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. There are five faculties:

Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

History

The university owes its earliest origin to the foundation of the Jesuit College St. Michel on Belze Hill by

in 1580 at the invitation of the government of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of Law was founded, housed in the Albertinium (now a Dominican residence). In 1834, the cantonal library was formed from works brought to Fribourg (from Catholic monasteries) for safekeeping. The College St. Michel was closed following the expulsion of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from Fribourg after the canton's defeat in the Sonderbund war. In 1886, Georges Python, founder of the cantonal bank and State Counsellor for Fribourg (M.P. in the upper house of the Swiss parliament) became Director of Public Education. He raised funds through a lottery and was granted some 2,500,000 CHF by the canton. The cantonal library became integrated with that of the university and the academy became the Faculty of Law. In 1939, the university moved to a new campus constructed on the former cemetery of Misericorde, ceding St. Michel to one of Fribourg's gymnasia, which took the name College St. Michel. During the Second World War, the university set up "university camps" along with the University of Zürich, HEC in St. Gall and a Lycée camp at Wetzikon provided a wide variety of courses to educate Polish prisoners of war. The Perolles campus was constructed on the site of a former wagon factory. Although many lectures were originally in Latin, Fribourg is now the only French/German bilingual university in the world (45% French and 55% German). The town itself is 70% French and 30% German. This fact, coupled with the traditional dominance of French as the language of the city aristocracy explains why French has remained so dominant in university administration and in the AGEF (Association Générale des Etudiants Fribourgois), the Student's Union. To commemorate the centenary of the university, La Poste issued a stamp depicting the figures Science and Sagesse.

Recent developments

In 2005, the university inaugurated its Perolles 2 campus, to which the Faculty of Economics and Social Science relocated. The university has the third largest collection of Biblical antiquities in the world after the British Museum and the Cairo Museum. Fribourg has also developed FriMat, a centre of excellence in nanotechnology. As part of the BeNeFri association comprising the Universities of Berne, Neuchâtel and Fribourg, students at any one of these universities may take courses at another in the association and still receive credit at their home institution. The

academic degrees An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...

were the Demi-Licence, Licence,

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

/ DESS,

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

. The university now follows the requirements of the Bologna process. The University of Fribourg launched for the 2009–2010 academic year a new postgraduate law programme, the

Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius ...

(MLCBP), an

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

taught entirely in English.

Campuses

Fribourg has no central campus and its buildings are located throughout the city. The main sites are: *Misericorde - Humanities and central administration (including the famous Senate room) *Perolles - Science *Perolles 2 - Economics & Social Sciences *Regina Mundi - Psychology *BCU centrale - Main Library *Pierre Aeby - Department of Classical Philology *Bonnesfontaines - Pedagogy * Stade St. Leonard - University Stadium

Faculties

The Fribourg University is divided into five faculties: * The ''Faculty of Humanities'' is the largest faculty with about 4,600 students. They follow courses and seminars in the fields of philosophy, historical sciences, languages, literature, education, psychology or social sciences. * The ''Faculty of Law'' has about 1,900 students. The program includes national and international law; both subjects areas can be followed bilingual. * The ''Faculty of Theology'' is the largest and the most international of Switzerland, and, with Lucerne, it is the only state university in Switzerland to have a Faculty of Catholic Theology. * Approximately 1,400 students are enrolled in one of the four Bachelor programmes and one of the seven Master programmes of the ''Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences''. The faculty is composed of four departments: business management, economics, computer science, media and communication. In addition, the ''international institute of management in technology (iimt)'' and the '' Verbandsmanagement Institute (VMI)'' are attached to the Faculty. * The ''Faculty of Science and Medicine'' was founded in 1896 and comprises seven departments: biology, chemistry, geosciences, computer science, mathematics, medicine and physics. These cover 14 fields: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, geography, computer science, human medicine and dentistry (Bachelor), mathematics, neuroscience, pharmacy, physics, biomedical sciences, environmental sciences, earth sciences (geology) and sport. The

Adolphe Merkle Institute The Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) is a research center in Fribourg, Switzerland focused on nanoscience. The institute is named after the Swiss entrepreneur Adolphe Merkle who created the foundation that partially funded the institute. History D ...

(AMI) is an interdisciplinary research institute of the Faculty of Sciences devoted to fundamental and application-oriented research and teaching in the domain of soft nanomaterials.

Traditions

*Dies Academicus - On this day in November every year, no lectures are held. Festivities begin with Mass in the Chapel of the Collège St. Michel. The members of the university then proceed to the Aula Magna (Great Hall) in solemn procession. After an address by the rector and a prominent guest speaker, honorary degrees are awarded. The student guilds attend in ceremonial dress including swords. *

Corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

- These are similar to the

Studentenverbindung (; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousa ...

en in Germany and Austria, but there is no de facto constraint to participate as it is in the

student nations Student nations or simply nations ( la, natio meaning "being born") are regional corporations of students at a university. Once widespread across Europe in medieval university, medieval times, they are now largely restricted to the oldest universit ...

at the universities of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

and

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. They maintain Central European student traditions and meet at least once a week around a ''Stammtisch'' ("regulars’ table") in order to socialise, drink and sing together. They tend to be organised on linguistic lines. One of them is still engaged in dueling, while the other corporations in Fribourg already rejected this tradition at the time they were founded, amongst others for religious reasons. Membership has often been considered advantageous for those wishing to pursue a career in business, politics or law. Most of Fribourg's student corporations belong to the formerly Catholic ''

Schweizerischer Studentenverein The Schweizerischer Studentenverein (''Swiss Student's Society'', abbreviation SSS; French: ''Société des Etudiants Suisses'') is a society of colour bearing students of both genders and at the same time a federation of student corporations which ...

''. An example is

AV Fryburgia AV (Akademische Verbindung; ''academic society'') Fryburgia is a fraternity or Studentenverbindung at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Male students of all faculties are eligible to become members. The fraternity is a section of the Sch ...

. *The Day of Welcomes (''Jour D’Accueil'') - Similar to Freshers’ Week in anglophone universities. New students are invited to the Aula Magna, where they are welcomed to Fribourg by the Rector and the Syndic (Mayor of the City of Fribourg). This is followed by a meal in the university mensa provided by the city, where new students are expected to dine with the rest of the faculty to which they have been admitted. *Every year, the Catholic Church holds collections during masses throughout Switzerland. Known as Fribourg Sunday, the funds raised are mainly used to award scholarships to foreign priests by the Faculty of Theology.

Branding

The university seal depicts a cross and bishop's ring representing the university's Catholic ethos on a shield of black and white, representing the canton of Fribourg. The logo of the university is a blue stylized "F" (with triangles echoing the facade structure of the Miséricorde Building and symbolizing the Alps) and the name of the university in Latin.

Notable alumni and faculty

Writers and academics

* Patrick Aebischer, former president of the

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

* Pietro Balestra, Swiss economist specialized in econometrics * Hans Wolfgang Brachinger, German mathematician and econometrician *

Mary Daly Mary Daly (October 16, 1928–January 3, 2010) was an American radical feminist philosopher and theologian. Daly, who described herself as a "radical lesbian feminist", taught at the Jesuit-run Boston College for 33 years. Once a practicing Rom ...

, feminist theologian and advocate of parthenogenesis * Reiner Eichenberger, Chair of the Center for Public Finance at the University of Fribourg *

Lionel Groulx Lionel Groulx (; 13 January 1878 – 23 May 1967) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, historian, and Quebec nationalist. Biography Early life and ordination Lionel Groulx, né Joseph Adolphe Lyonel Groulx, the son of a farmer and lumber ...

(1878–1967), Québécois priest and historian *

Vincas Mykolaitis Vincas Mykolaitis, known by his pen name Putinas (literally ''Viburnum'') (6 January 1893 in Pilotiškės, Suwałki Governorate – 7 June 1967 in Kačerginė), was a Lithuanian poet and writer. He was also a priest, but renounced his priestho ...

, Lithuanian poet and writer *

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (born 10 April 1935, Cork City, Ireland – died 11 November 2013, Jerusalem) was a Dominican priest, a leading authority on St. Paul, and a Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, a position ...

, Professor of

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

at the Ecole Biblique in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Hugo Obermaier Hugo Obermaier (29 January 1877, in Regensburg – 12 November 1946, in Fribourg) was a distinguished Spanish-German prehistorian and anthropologist who taught at various European centres of learning. Although he was born in Germany, he was late ...

, prehistorian and anthropologist * Michel Plancherel, mathematician *

Eleanor Purdie Eleanor Purdie (10 January 1872 - 5 May 1929) was an English philologist and the first woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of Fribourg. Biography Eleanor Purdie was born in Dalston in 1872 to Elizabeth White Blight and Walter Charle ...

(1872–1929), philologist; first woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of Fribourg *

Gonzague de Reynold Gonzague de Reynold (15 June 1880 – 9 April 1970) was a Swiss writer, historian, and right-wing political activist. Over the course of his six-decade career, he wrote more than thirty books outlining his traditionalist Catholic and Swiss natio ...

, writer and academic, author of ''Cités et pays suisse'' *

Léon Savary Léon Savary (Fleurier, 1895 - Boudry, 1968) was a Swiss French-speaking writer and journalist from Payerne, Vaud. Biography Savary was the son of a German russified aristocratic mother from the Baltic region (Von Paucker) and a father who was ...

, writer and journalist * Csaba Szabo, pharmacologist * Wilhelm Schmidt, Austrian linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist *

Winfried Sebald Winfried Georg Sebald (18 May 1944 – 14 December 2001), known as W. G. Sebald or (as he preferred) Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was being cited by literary critics as one of the g ...

, German writer *

Peter Thullen Peter Thullen (24 August 1907 in Trier – 24 June 1996 in Lonay) was a German/ Ecuadorian mathematician. Academic career He studied under Heinrich Behnke at the University of Münster and received his doctoral degree in 1931 at the age o ...

, mathematician *

Peter Trudgill Peter Trudgill, FBA (; born 7 November 1943) is an English sociolinguist, academic and author. Trudgill was born in Norwich, England and grew up in the area of Thorpe St Andrew. He attended the City of Norwich School from 1955. Trudgill studie ...

, British sociolinguist and dialectologist *

Werner Ulrich Werner Ulrich (born 1948, Berne, Switzerland) is a Swiss social scientist and practical philosopher, and a former professor of the theory and practice of social planning at the University of Fribourg. He is known as one of the originators of cr ...

, Swiss social scientist and practical philosopher, one of the originators of "

critical systems thinking Critical systems thinking (CST) is a systems approach designed to aid decision-makers, and other stakeholders, improve complex problem situations that cross departmental and, often, organizational boundaries. CST sees systems thinking as essential ...

" (CST) * Eliseo Verón, sociologist *

Luc E. Weber Luc E. Weber (born 18 September 1941) is the Rector Emeritus of the University of Geneva and the President of the Glion Colloquium. Biography Luc E. Weber received a PhD in Economics and Business from the University of Lausanne. From 1975 to 200 ...

, Rector Emeritus of the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

* Jean Zermatten, academic and Chair of U.N. Commission on the Rights of the Child *

Maurice Zermatten Maurice Zermatten (22 October 1910, in Saint-Martin, Valais – 11 February 2001, in Sion) was a French-speaking Swiss writer. He was born in Saint-Martin, Valais, a small village situated in the Val d'Hérens, in the canton of Valais. He was fir ...

, writer, winner of the Schiller International Prize

Clergy

Gilberto Agustoni Gilberto Agustoni (26 July 1922 – 13 January 2017) was a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the Roman Curia from 1950 to 1998, ending his career as head of the Apostolic Signatura from 1992 to 1998. He became a Cardinal in 1 ...

, Prefect Emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature * Michael Browne O.P., Master General of the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

Georges Cottier Georges Marie Martin Cottier O.P., (25 April 1922 – 31 March 2016) was a Swiss prelate and theologian of the Catholic Church who served from 1990 to 2005 as theologian to Pope John Paul II as Theologian of the Pontifical Household after a ca ...

, official theologian to the Papal Household (under John Paul II), Secretary of the International Theological Commission *

Clemens August Graf von Galen Clemens Augustinus Emmanuel Joseph Pius Anthonius Hubertus Marie Graf von Galen (16 March 1878 – 22 March 1946), better known as ''Clemens August Graf von Galen'', was a German count, Bishop of Münster, and cardinal of the Catholic Churc ...

* Bernard Genoud, Bishop of Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg * Basil Hume, former

archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

Franciszek Macharski Franciszek Macharski (; 20 May 1927 – 2 August 2016) was a Polish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Archbishop of Kraków from 1978, named by Pope John Paul II to succeed him in that role. Macharski was elevated to the car ...

, former archbishop of Cracow *

Rupert Mayer Rupert Mayer (23 January 1876 – 1 November 1945) was a Germans, German Jesuit Priesthood (Catholic Church), priest and a leading figure of the Catholic German Resistance to Nazism, resistance to Nazism in Munich. In 1987, he was beatified by ...

Blessed, Jesuit critic of the Nationalist Socialist Regime *

Peter Hildebrand Meienberg Peter Hildebrand Meienberg (27 November 1929 – 3 December 2021) was a Swiss Benedictine missionary who spent more than 50 years in East Africa working on refugee aid, prison reform, education, and other social determinants of health. He is know ...

, East African missionary. *

Gaspard Mermillod Gaspard Mermillod (22 September 1824 – 23 February 1892) was a Swiss Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite a lengthy investiture conflict with the Calvinist Canton of Geneva, he served as Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva from 1883 ...

, attended the Jesuit Seminary that was the forerunner of the university; Cardinal Beer takes its name from him *

Aloisius Joseph Muench Aloisius Joseph Muench (February 18, 1889 – February 15, 1962) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Fargo from 1935 to 1959, and as Apostolic Nuncio to Germany from 1951 to 1959. He was elevated to the c ...

, Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota *

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P. (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and ...

, Archbishop of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Henri Schwery Henri Schwery (14 June 1932 – 7 January 2021) was a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who was Bishop of Sion from 1977 to 1995. He was raised to the rank of cardinal in 1991. Early life and ordination Born in St-Léonard, Valais, Schwery ...

, Bishop of

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

Angelo Scola Angelo Scola (; born 7 November 1941) is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church, philosopher and theologian. He was Archbishop of Milan from 2011 to 2017. He had served as Patriarch of Venice from 2002 to 2011. He has been a cardinal since 20 ...

, Patriarch of Venice *Prince Max von Sachsen, Bishop, Prince of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and son of King George of Saxony and Donna Maria Anna, the

Infanta ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

of Portugal *Dom

Henry Wansbrough Henry Wansbrough (born Joseph Wansbrough, 1934) is an English biblical scholar, Roman Catholic priest, and monk of Ampleforth Abbey. From 1990 to 2004, he served as Master of St Benet's Hall, Oxford. Biography Born as Joseph Wansbrough on 9 Oc ...

OSB

Politics

* Elijah Malok Aleng, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan and President of the Bank of Southern Sudan (2005–2011) *

Gerard Batliner Gerard Batliner (9 December 1928 – 25 June 2008) was a political figure from Liechtenstein. He was born in Eschen, Liechtenstein. He studied law at the University of Fribourg and was an attorney-at-law. Prime Minister of Liechtenstein Bat ...

, former Head of Government (Regierungschef) of Liechtenstein (1962–1970) *

Joseph Bech Joseph Bech (17 February 1887 – 8 March 1975)Thewes, Guy"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché depuis 1848." Service information et presse. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. was a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer. He was the 15th Prime Mi ...

, Luxembourgian politician and 15th Prime Minister of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

Corina Casanova Corina Casanova (born 4 January 1956) is a Swiss politician who was the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland between 2008 and 2015. Born in Ilanz, Graubünden, Casanova worked as a lawyer in the practice of the former President of the Swiss Federa ...

Federal Chancellor of Switzerland The Federal Chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Counc ...

2008–2015 *

Enrico Celio Enrico Celio (19 June 1889 – 23 February 1980) was a Swiss lawyer, politician and journalist, a member of the Conservative Party, State Councilor and Federal Councilor. He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 22 February 1940 ...

President of the Swiss 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 (Switzerland), Federal Council, the country's ...

1943, 1948 *

Flavio Cotti Flavio Cotti (18 October 193916 December 2020) was a Swiss politician who served as member of the Federal Council from 1986 to 1999. He was a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party from the canton of Ticino. In the 1990s, Cotti led t ...

1991, 1998 *

Joseph Deiss Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed the Federal Departmen ...

, Federal Chancellor 1999–2006,

2004,

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

2010–11 *

Kurt Furgler Kurt Furgler (24 June 1924 – 23 July 2008) was a Switzerland, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1972–1986). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 8 December 1971 and handed over office on 31 Decembe ...

1977, 1981 and 1985 *

Martine Brunschwig Graf Martine Brunschwig Graf (born 16 March 1950 in Fribourg) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss National Council for the Canton of Geneva; since 2003. Her political party is FDP.The Liberals. Brunschwig Graf was a member of the parliame ...

, Swiss politician, member of the

Swiss National Council The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...

Otmar Hasler Otmar Hasler (born 28 September 1953) was the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 5 April 2001 to 25 March 2009. Earlier life He was educated at the University of Fribourg. Hasler served as President of the Landtag from January 1995 to Decem ...

, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein 2001–09 * Hans Hürlimann,

1979 *

Arnold Koller Arnold Koller (born 29 August 1933) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1986–1999). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 10 December 1986 as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party of ...

1990, 1997 *

Giuseppe Lepori Giuseppe Lepori (2 June 1902 – 6 September 1968) was a Swiss politician. He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 16 December 1954 and handed over office on 31 December 1959. He was affiliated to the Christian Democratic Peo ...

, Federal Chancellor and Consigliere del popolo (M.P.) for

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

* Richard Thomas McCormack, US Ambassador to the Organization of American States 1985–1989, US Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs 1989–1991 *

Ruth Metzler Ruth Metzler (born Arnold, 23 May 1964) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she headed the Federal Department of Justice and P ...

, Federal Chancellor, Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1999–2003, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation 2003 * Stanisław Mieroszewski, member of the Imperial Council of Austria *

Juli Minoves Juli Minoves i Triquell (; born 15 August 1969, in Andorra la Vella) is an Andorran diplomat, author, and the 13th President of Liberal International. Biography Minoves was educated as an economist (University of Fribourg) and Political science, ...

, Andorran ambassador, plenipotentiary, and political scientist *

Ignacy Mościcki Ignacy Mościcki (; 1 December 18672 October 1946) was a Polish chemist and politician who was the country's president from 1926 to 1939. He was the longest serving president in Polish history. Mościcki was the President of Poland when Germany ...

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

1926–1939 *

Giuseppe Motta Giuseppe Motta (29 December 1871 – 23 January 1940) was a Swiss politician. He was a member of the Swiss Federal Council (1911–1940) and President of the League of Nations (1924–1925). He was a Catholic-conservative foreign minister and a ...

, Federal Chancellor (Swiss Cabinet member) 1911–40 (

1915, '20, '27, '32, '37), President of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

1924–25 *

Jean-Marie Musy Jean-Marie Musy (10 April 1876 – 19 April 1952) was a Swiss politician. Affiliated with the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland, he was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 11 December 1919 served until 30 April 193 ...

, Federal Chancellor, Member of the Swiss Federal Council *

Albert Pintat Albert Pintat Santolària (; born 23 June 1943) is an Andorran citizen, who served as the prime minister of Andorra from 27 February 2005 to 5 June 2009. Pintat graduated from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland in 1967, majoring in economi ...

, head of the government of

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

Bill Press William H. Press (born April 8, 1940) is an American talk radio host, podcaster, liberal pundit and author. He was chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996, and is a senior political contributor on CNN. He hosts ''The Bill ...

, U.S. political commentator and former Chairman of the Democratic Party of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2010. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and 202 ...

, 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 governme ...

2010–present,

2015 *

Ludwig von Moos Ludwig von Moos (31 January 1910, in Sachseln – 26 November 1990, in Bern) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1959–1971). Von Moos was a member of the cantonal government of Obwalden from 1946 to 1959. He was ele ...

1964, 1969 *

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...

, first

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello (; 15 March 1948 – 19 August 2003) was a Brazilian United Nations diplomat who worked on several UN humanitarian and political programs for over 34 years. The Government of Brazil posthumously awarded the Sergio Vieira ...

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

2002-2003 and UN Special Representative for Iraq 2003

Business and economics

* Jean-Marie Ayer co-founder of Dartfish, chairman and CEO 1999–2003 *Albert M. Baehny, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Geberit Group since January 1, 2005 *Heinrich Burk, former CEO of

ACNielsen The Nielsen Corporation, self-referentially known as The Nielsen Company, and formerly known as ACNielsen or AC Nielsen, is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City, United States. Regional headquarters for ...

Urs Felber Urs Felber (born 10 July 1942), a pioneer of furniture design, was the CEO of Vitra (furniture), Vitra USA. Felber was also the board director for several companies including Swissflex and was chairman and principal shareholder for the furniture ...

, Swiss industrialist, philanthropist and design pioneer * Stephan Klapproth, Swiss journalist and television presenter *Adolphe Merkle,Adolphe Merkle
/ref> founder of Vibro-Meter International AG, Adolphe Merkle Foundation * Marc Moret, former Chairman of

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 ...

, uncle of

Daniel Vasella Daniel Lucius Vasella (born 15 August 1953) is a Swiss medical doctor, author, and executive who served as CEO and chairman of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, the world's fifth largest drug company. During his tenure Novartis shares f ...

's wife * Klaus Martin Schwab, German economist, the founder and executive chairman of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

Arthur Dunkel Arthur Dunkel (26 August 1932 – 8 June 2005) was a Swiss (Portuguese-born) administrator. He served as director-general of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade between 1980 and 1993. Dunkel was educated at the Graduate Institute of Interna ...

(1932–2005), Swiss (Portuguese-born) administrator and a professor at the University of Fribourg; director-general of

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...

, 1980–1993

Sports

René Fasel René Fasel (born 6 February 1950) is a Swiss retired ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the International Ice Hockey Federation from 1994 to 2021. He started his ice hockey career as a player for HC Fribourg-Gottéron, in 1960, ...

, president of the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (; born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss football administrator with Italian citizenship and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016. He ...

, current

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

president

Architecture

Mario Botta Mario Botta (born 1 April 1943) is a Swiss architect. Career Botta designed his first building, a two-family house at Morbio Superiore in Ticino, at age 16. He graduated from the Università Iuav di Venezia (1969). While the arrangements of spa ...

, founder of the Academy of Architecture at Mendrisio (Honoris Causa)

Judiciary

Giusep Nay Giusep Nay (born 9 August 1942 in Trun, Grisons) was the president of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland for the years 2005 and 2006. He was elected to the Supreme Court in 1988 after being nominated by the Christian Democratic People's Party ...

, president of the

Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (german: Bundesgericht, french: Tribunal fédéral, it, Tribunale federale, rm, ) is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation and at the head of the Swiss judiciary. The Federal Supreme Court i ...

2005–2006, 1988–2006 * Alois Pfister, member of the

* Antonin Gregory Scalia, U.S. Justice *

Luzius Wildhaber Luzius Wildhaber (18 January 1937, Basel, Switzerland – 22 July 2020) was a Swiss judge. He was the first president of the European Court of Human Rights in its new format after the ratification of Protocol 11, which opened up direct access ...

, Swiss judge; first President of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

Media

*Andrea Jansen, journalist, Swiss National Television

Arts

*Three of the members of the medieval ensemble Freiburger Spielleyt are graduates of the university's early music program.

Royalty

Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern , succession = Prince of Hohenzollern , image = Karl Friedrich von Hohenzollern (2012).jpg , caption = Karl Friedrich in 2012 , reign = 16 September 2010 – present , reign-type = Tenure , predecessor = ...

Image:Aula_Magna_(Great_Hall).jpg, Aula Magna (Great Hall) Image:University of Fribourg CEntral Library, CH.jpg, BCU, University of Fribourg Image:Pavillion_of_Musicology.jpg, Pavilion of Musicology

Notes and references

External links

*
Information's about the University of Fribourg
* Se
Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice
the University of Fribourg's new LL.M Programme {{DEFAULTSORT:Fribourg, University Of Educational institutions established in 1889 Public universities Buildings and structures in the canton of Fribourg

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...

1889 establishments in Switzerland