Sigmund Widmer (born 30 July 1919 in

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

, died 11 August 2003 in

Visp Visp (french: Viège) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of ...

) was a Swiss historian, writer and LdU politician who served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the city of

Early life and education

Born in Zürich to Bertha Gizella, née Oechslin, and Huldreich, Sigmund Widmer was citizen of the city of Winterthur, raised in Zürich, and as a child he also spent some time in the family of Ruth Guggenheim Heussler. He was educated as a primary school teacher in Zürich, and later studied History and

German philosophy German philosophy, here taken to mean either (1) philosophy in the German language or (2) philosophy by Germans, has been extremely diverse, and central to both the analytic and continental traditions in philosophy for centuries, from Gottfried ...

at the

University of Zurich 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 ...

and at 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 centur ...

from 1944 to 1948. Widmer habilitated as Dr. phil., and worked in Zürich as secondary school teacher (''Mittelschullehrer'') between 1949 and 1954.

Political career

From 1950 to 1954 he was a delegate of the LdU political party in the legislative assembly (''Gemeinderat'') of the city of Zürich, and from 1954 to 1982 as a member of the executive city council (''Stadtrat'') as head of the ''Hochbaudepartement'' to 1966, and later as Mayor of Zürich. In 1963 Widmer was elected as ''Nationalrat'' and represented the Canton of Zürich in the National Council to 1966, and again from 1979 to 1991. As one of his most controversial project as ''Stadtpräsident'' (mayor) of the city of Zürich, in 1971 Widmer initiated the plans for the satellite town ''Waldstatt'' (literally "city in the woods", also called ''Sigi-Ville'') on the

Adlisberg Adlisberg, with an elevation of , is a wooded mountain in Switzerland overlooking Zürichsee (Lake Zürich) to the northwest near the Zürichberg. Geography Adlisberg mountain is located to the east of the city of Zürich, between the Glat ...

hill plateau for about 100,000 inhabitants, comprising an area of about . In addition to 30,000 relatively affordable housing, 230 classrooms, 10 double gyms, swimming pools, shops, cinemas, churches, a hospital, hotels, a convention center and theater were planned, as well as a subway and underground motorway connections, thus a completely car-free settlement on the surface would have occurred. The project was opposed, mainly for ecological reasons, and never realized, as well as, among others, the Zürich subway. Nevertheless, Sigmund "Sigi" Widmer forced the Zürich housing cooperatives to build affordable housing estates in the neighboring

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, with the objective to oppose the housing shortage in the 1970s. The youth protests of the early 1980s, the so-called '' Opernhauskrawalle'', marked the end of his term of office, but ''Sigi'' Widmer was very popular and became the city's ''Stapi'' (Swiss German, meaning "mayor") for 16 years; longer than all 20th-century Zürich mayors.

Other mandates

In 1983 Sigmund Widmer initiated a parliamentary motion to establish the

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland that aims to take into account the results of modern historical research in a manner accessible to a broader audience. The encyclopedia is publish ...

. Other mandates include the Mayor of the International Union Bureau for Franco-German understanding and European cooperation (1967–1977) and the bureau of the

Pro Helvetia The foundation Pro Helvetia is a public foundation of Switzerland. Presidents *From 1939 to 1943, Heinrich Häberlin. *From 1944 to 1952, Paul Lachenal. *From 1952 to 1964, Jean-Rodolphe de Salis. *From 1965 to 1970, Michael Stettler. *From 19 ...

from 1986 to 1989. Widmer was honoured to hold the Federal Assembly speech on occasion of the 700th anniversary celebration of Switzerland on 3 May 1991.Sigmund Widmer: ''700 Jahre Eidgenossenschaft / estansprache von Sigmund Widmer an die Vereinigte Bundesversammlung am 3. Mai 1991'. Published by Alice Gertrud and Hans Rudolf Bosch-Gwalter, Kranich-Verlag, Zollikon 1991, . In 1992 Widmer was appointed by the Federal Council as a mediator in the conflict over the newly formed

Canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (french: République et canton du Jura), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( , ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital ...

– the "report of the Consultative Commission of the Federal Council and the Kt. Bern and Jura", the so-called Widmer report, was published in 1993.

Personal life

Sigmund Widmer served as colonel of infantry in the Swiss militia army. He has published numerous newspaper articles, gave lectures and wrote books on contemporary and historical issues. Sigmund Widmer died on 11 August 2003 after a short disease at the cantonal hospital of Valais, and was buried at the Fluntern Cemetery.

Works

Literature (excerpt)

* ''Zürich. Eine Kulturgeschichte''. 13 volumes. Artemis, Zürich 1975–1986, .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Widmer, Sigmund 1919 births 2003 deaths Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Alliance of Independents politicians Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Mayors of Zürich Swiss city councillors 21st-century Swiss historians Swiss male writers 20th-century Swiss historians University of Zurich alumni Burials at Fluntern Cemetery