Lilian Uchtenhagen (7 September 1928 – 6 September 2016) was a Swiss politician and economist. She was one of the ten first women elected to the National Council, the Swiss Parliament's house and first women to be a candidate to the Federal Council, the Government of Switzerland.

Early life and education

Uchtenhagen was born in 1928 at

Olten Olten (High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zürich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub o ...

in the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. Hi ...

, the daughter of a businessman. She studied political science at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

and at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE) and graduated in 1954 from the University of Basel.

Political career

She was elected in to the Municipal Council of Zurich in 1970, from which she resigned in 1974. After women gained the right to vote in national elections in 1971, Uchtenhagen joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SP), and was one of the first ten women to be elected to the National Council, the

Federal Assembly of Switzerland The Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung, french: Assemblée fédérale, it, Assemblea federale, rm, Assamblea federala), also known as the Swiss parliament (''Parlament'', ''Parlement'', ''Parlamento''), is Switzerland's federal legi ...

's Lower House. She served in the National Council from 29 November 1971 to 24 November 1991. As the first female candidate in history, she received the nomination from the

to succeed

Willi Ritschard Willi Ritschard (sometimes Willy Ritschard; 28 September 1918 – 16 October 1983) was a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party (SP). He is remembered as the first and to date only working class member of the Federal Council, the Swis ...

in 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 ...

in 1983. She lost her bid to

Otto Stich Otto Stich (10 January 1927 – 13 September 2012) was a Swiss politician. Born in Basel, he was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 7 December 1983 and handed over office on 31 October 1995. He was affiliated to the Social Democrat ...

also from her party; but supported by the rivaling conservative parties. The ''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine article "Ladies Last" states that she lost her bid because of male reluctance to allow for a woman to serve on the council.

Professional career

Lilian Uchtenhagen served as the president of Zürich's

Coop Coop, COOP, Co-op, or ''variation'', most often refers to: * A chicken coop or other enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association of persons who cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit ** Housing ...

retail chain from 1981 to 1997, and was president of the charitable organization ''Swissaid'' from 1998 to 2003.

Personal life

A resident of the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

and the wife of Ambros Uchtenhagen, a Swiss psychiatrist credited with the initiating of the establishment of the national drug policy. Uchtenhagen died on 6 September 2016, the eve of her 88th birthday.Première femme candidate au Conseil fédéral Lilian Uchtenhagen est morte

References

External links

Uchtenhagen Lilian
''

'' 1928 births 2016 deaths Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Swiss women economists Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Basel alumni People from Olten 20th-century Swiss economists 21st-century Swiss economists 20th-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss women politicians 20th-century Swiss politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians {{Switzerland-politician-stub