Adolf Deucher (15 February 1831 in

Wipkingen Wipkingen is a quarter in the district 10 in Zürich. It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich in 1893. The quarter has a population of 15,446 distributed on an area of 2.11 km². Zentrum für M ...

– 10 July 1912 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 ...

) was a federal councillor of Switzerland, and a two-time member of the

Swiss National Council The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

. Pursuing centralist policies in a very

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

country, he was a main promoter of the 1868 revision of the

Swiss constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; (BV); (Cst.); (Cost.); ) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of ...

. As a federal councillor, he improved conditions for workers (banning phosphorus in the

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industry in 1898, revision of the factory law). He was also the guiding force behind the first national law on agriculture.

Early career

He studied medicine at Heidelberg, Zurich, Prague, and Vienna. In 1855 he became a member of the

Grand Council of Thurgau The Grand Council of Thurgau () is the legislature of the canton of Thurgau, in Switzerland. Thurgau has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council has 130 seats, with members elected every four years. The council has the unique feature in Swi ...

, and in 1868 he served as a member of the council established to formulate a new democratic constitution for Thurgau. From 1869 to 1873 he was a member of the

National Council of Switzerland The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

, and, three years after his re-election to that body became its president (1882).

Later career

He was elected to the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand co ...

on 10 April 1883 and died in office on 10 July 1912, aged 81. He was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party. During his office time, he held the following departments: * Department of Justice and Police (1883) * Department of Posts and Railways (1884) *

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

(1885) * Political Department (1886) * Department of Trade and Agriculture (1887) * Department of Industry and Agriculture (1888–1895) * Department of Trade, Industry and Agriculture (1896) * Political Department (1897) * Department of Trade, Industry and Agriculture (1898–1902) * Political Department (1903) * Department of Trade, Industry and Agriculture (1904–1908) * Political Department (1909) * Department of Trade, Industry and Agriculture (1910–1912) He was President of the Confederation four times in 1886, 1897, 1903 and 1909.

References

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* * * 1831 births 1912 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics Politicians from Zurich Swiss Roman Catholics Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Foreign ministers of Switzerland Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the Swiss Confederation Interior ministers of Switzerland Ministers of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Switzerland Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Thurgau politicians Heidelberg University alumni Charles University alumni University of Vienna alumni University of Zurich alumni Agriculture ministers of Switzerland {{Switzerland-politician-stub