Edgar Oehler (2 March 1942 – 13 March 2025) was a Swiss businessman and politician who was a member of the National Council and served as a member for the Christian Democratic People's Party from 1971 to 1995.

Early life and education

Oehler was born into a modest family in Balgach, Switzerland to Ludwig Oehler and Rosa (née Eschenmoser). His father was a commercial painter and the family often struggled to make ends meet. He completed the public schools at

Balgach Balgach is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Balgach is first mentioned about 890-91 as ''Palgaa''. Coat of arms The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is ''Pe ...

and

Widnau Widnau is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History In 1883 the municipality was created when it separated from Diepoldsau.Kantonsschule St. Gallen where he completed his

Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

in 1962. In 1961, he took part in a student exchange, earning an American

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

at Dallas Senior High School in

Dallas, Oregon Dallas is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,854 at the 2020 census. Dallas is along Rickreall Creek, about west of Salem, at an elevation of above sea level. It is part of the Salem M ...

. He then served his mandatory military service with the

Swiss Armed Forces The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

in the function of

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

man. Between 1963 and 1967 he studied at

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

with a major in

Public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

. He completed an exchange semester at the

International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and Bank of Japan, BOJ Governor Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first liberal arts coll ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. He earned his PhD in 1975.

Career

During his college studies Oehler ventured into the world of business, operating a

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

company and worked as journalist for various newspapers such as the daily newspaper

Die Ostschweiz Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

. He stopped with those activities when he entered Arbonia Forster Group (AFG), in which he was employed from 1985 to 1990 as general director. On 11 September 2003 he took-over the majority of the shares of the group as well as all its subsidiaries. Until 2014 he was majority shareholder and board member of the group.

Politics

Oehler was a member of the National Council (Switzerland) from 1971 until 1995 for the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP). He was a member of several commissions focussing on economy, finance and state and foreign policy. From 1991 to 2004 he was the president of the ''Association of the Swiss Tobacco Industry'' and a

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

of the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

Personal life and death

From 1976, Oehler was married to Marianne (née Metzler), and resided in

Horgen Horgen () is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the mu ...

and

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. His wife is a painter. He had no biological children but four adopted daughters which were conveyed by the controversial adoption agency of Alice Honegger in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Oehler had an estimated net worth of $270–320 million (as of 2020) by Bilanz magazine. Oehler died on 13 March 2025, at the age of 83.

Literature

* Edgar Oehler: ''Stammtafeln Öler, Oeler, Öhler und Oehler von Balgach SG''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oehler, Edgar 1942 births 2025 deaths 20th-century Swiss businesspeople Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1991–1995 Swiss newspaper journalists People from the canton of St. Gallen