Fridolin Anderwert (19 September 1828, in

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld ( Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic ...

– 25 December 1880) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

politician. He was elected to 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 ...

on 10 December 1875 and was member of the Council until 25 December 1880. He was affiliated to the

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland french: Parti radical-démocratique it, Partito Liberale Radicale rm, Partida liberaldemocrata svizra , logo = Free Democratic Party of Switzerland logo French.png , logo_size = 200px , foundation = , dissolution = ...

. During his office time he held the

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 ...

and was Vice-

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 t ...

in 1880. On 7 December 1880 he was elected

for the year 1881. Immediately after the election a nasty campaign against him broke out in the press, in particular about the eating habits of the obese bachelor, but also rumors that he was a regular visitor in gay brothels. Drawn by physical exhaustion and severe depression, Anderwert committed suicide on Christmas Day 1880 on the "Kleine Schanze", a small park next to the Houses of Parliament. The only published sentence of his farewell letter states: "They want a victim, they shall have it."

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* * 1828 births 1880 deaths People from Frauenfeld Swiss Old Catholics Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland judges Politicians who committed suicide Suicides by firearm in Switzerland 19th-century Swiss judges {{Switzerland-politician-stub