Eugène Borel (17 June 1835 – 14 June 1892) was a Swiss 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 ...

(1872–1875).

Early life

He was born in Neuchâtel to François-Victor and Louise Borel. He was educated at the humanistic high school in Neuchâtel and then studied the law in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. After finishing his studies he worked as a lawyer in Neuchâtel. In 1861 he married Marie Gullaume. Borel became an auditor and translator in the

National Council of Switzerland 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, th ...

in 1860. In 1870 he was elected inquisitor for western Switzerland by the federal court.

Politics

In 1857 he was elected into the legislative branch (Generalrat) of the city of Neuchâtel for the radical party, which is now the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. He was elected to the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

in 1864, to the Grand Council of the canton of Neuchâtel and in 1865 he became a member of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

(Staatsrat) where he headed the military department from 1865 to 1870 and the department of justice from 1870 to 1872. In 1865 he was elected to the

Swiss Council of States The Council of States (german: Ständerat, french: Conseil des États, it, Consiglio degli Stati, rm, Cussegl dals Stadis) is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, with the National Council being the lower house. It compri ...

which he presided in 1869. He was elected to the

Federal Council of Switzerland 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 7 December 1872 with 37 years. During his office time he held the Department of Posts and Telegraph. He was a key player in the founding of the

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...

(UPU) with the Treaty of Bern in 1874. Borel became the first directory of the UPU and therefore resigned from his job as a federal councillor and handed over office on 31 December 1875 to his successor. In 1889 there was a big unrest in

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 . ...

. Borel was sent there and, together with troops from

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, he managed to restore order. Borel headed the UPU until his death in 1892. ''Quai Eugène-Borel'' in Neuchâtel is named for him.

References

Works

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borel, Eugene 1835 births 1892 deaths People from Neuchâtel Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland) Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland judges Universal Postal Union people 19th-century Swiss judges