Arnold Käch (4 February 1914 – 24 November 1998) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

military officer, skier, ski official and writer.

Biography

Käch was born in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. His father was the engineer Arnold Otto Käch, and his mother was Berta Käch, née Scholl. He studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

at the universities of

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, in the United States and Canada after 1933, and got his license to practice law in 1939. During his years of studies, he was a leader in the rank of a

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

of the national Olympic military patrol team in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

which placed seventh. On 9 January 1937 he won the first Citadin race in Mürren''Racing for Citadins''
FIS-CIT. From 1939 to 1940, he worked as a lawyer at the

Federal Department of Economic Affairs The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER, ; ; ) is one of the seven departments of the federal government of Switzerland, headed by a Member of the Swiss Federal Council. The department was renamed from Federal ...

, afterward as an assistant of the Swiss

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and

air attaché An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and after 1943 as military and air attaché in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Meanwhile, he married Louisa Hendrika Jeannette Wagemans in 1941. From 1 July 1947 to 1957 he was the first director of the Eidgenössische Turn- und Sportschule (ETS) Magglingen as an officer, General Staff, and was engaged in its increasing to today's federal office of sports BASPO. From 1951 to the middle of 1961 he was secretary general of the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

.''The history''
, International Ski Federation. For his publishing work he was awarded with the

Sports Award Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

for artists in 1957.''Awarded persons''
Credit Suisse Sports Awards. From 1957 to 1979, he was director of the Federal Military Administration, was advanced to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in 1957, and served additionally as the commander of Border Brigade 11 from 1967 to 1972.. Käch was a member of the

Swiss Olympic Association The Swiss Olympic Association is the National Olympic Committee and the umbrella organisation for organised Swiss sport under private law. It has 104 members (81 national sports federations and 23 partner organisations), to which some two millio ...

and of the Commission for Assignments of Tasks between Federation and Cantons. After 1983 he was guest of honor at the yearly international SASSAS: Swiss Academical Skiclub competitions of

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

. He died in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Publications

* ''Weisse Abenteuer. Heitere Erlebnisse eines Ski-Vagabunden in Europa und Amerika.'' Amstutz & Herdeg, Zürich 1939

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kach, Arnold 1914 births 1998 deaths Swiss generals Swiss male alpine skiers Swiss military patrol (sport) runners Military patrol competitors at the 1936 Winter Olympics Swiss referees and umpires Sportspeople from Bern Skiers from the canton of Bern Swiss writers 20th-century Swiss lawyers 20th-century Swiss sportsmen