Jonas Furrer (3 March 1805 – 25 July 1861) was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as member of the Federal Council, from 1848 to 1861, and as the first

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, the country's executive branch. Elected by ...

from 1848 to 1849, and again in 1852, 1855 and 1858. He was one of the leading figures in the foundation of Switzerland as a federal state. He was a member of the Radical Party.

Biography

Furrer was born in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria ...

, in the canton of Zürich, on 3 March 1805, the son of Anna Magdalena Hanhart and Jonas Furrer, a locksmith. He received his early education in his hometown, and in 1824 went to study law at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. He soon continued his studies in

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 ...

, and between 1825 and 1826 studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. After finishing his education, Furrer returned to Winterthur and established himself as a jurist. Furrer was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1832, and that year he married Friederike Sulzer, daughter of Johann Heinrich Sulzer. In 1834, aged 29, he was elected to the Cantonal Council of Zürich. He served until 1839, and was again elected in 1842. At the Cantonal Council he was the leader of the Liberal opposition to the Conservative government of Johann Kaspar Bluntschli. In 1845 he became president of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

of Zürich. In 1847, Furrer was appointed member of the commission tasked with reaching a peaceful settlement for the

Sonderbund War The Sonderbund War (german: Sonderbundskrieg, fr , Guerre du Sonderbund, it , Guerra del Sonderbund) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic canton ...

. After the Federal victory and the end of the civil war, in 1848 he was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

by the canton of Zurich to the Council of States. For his significant contribution to the drafting the 1848 constitution, which established Switzerland as a federal state, Furrer was elected

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, the country's executive branch. Elected by ...

by the legislature, becoming the head of the newly created

executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

of Switzerland, the seven-member Federal Council. Bundesrat 1848

Furrer served as Federal Councilor from 1848 until his death in 1861. During his time in office he headed a number of

government departments Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration." Энцикло� ...

, most notably the

Federal Department of Justice and Police The Federal Department of Justice and Police (german: Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, french: Département fédéral de justice et police, it, Dipartimento federale di giustizia e polizia, rm, ) is one of the seven departmen ...

due to the reforms he implemented, and also distinguished himself as head of the Political Department for his diplomatic skill. He resolved the question regarding

stateless person Stateless may refer to: Society * Anarchism, a political philosophy opposed to the institution of the state * Stateless communism, which Karl Marx predicted would be the final phase of communism * Stateless nation, a group of people without ...

s, enacted a law in 1850 protecting religiously mixed couples, and founded government agencies responsible for settling conflicts of jurisdiction between the Confederation and the cantons.

Ministries

During his time as member of the Federal Council, he presided over the following departments: * Political Department (1848–1849) * Department of Justice and Police (1850–1851) * Political Department (1852) * Department of Justice and Police (1853–1854) * Political Department (1855) * Department of Justice and Police (1856–1857) * Political Department (1858) * Department of Justice and Police (1859–1861)

Personal life

Furrer was member of the

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 ...

''Akazia'' at

, and was elected Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland in 1844. He died in office on 25 July 1861. He wrote ''Das Erbrecht der Stadt Winterthur'' (“Inheritance law in the city of Winterthur,” 1832).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furrer, Jonas 1805 births 1861 deaths People from Winterthur Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Foreign ministers of Switzerland Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland) Mayors of Zürich University of Zurich alumni Heidelberg University alumni University of Göttingen alumni 19th-century Swiss politicians Swiss Freemasons