Eugène Borel (17 June 1835 – 14 June 1892) was a Swiss politician and member of 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 ...

(1872–1875).

Early life

He was born in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

to François-Victor and Louise Borel. He was educated at the humanistic high school in

and then studied the law in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. After finishing his studies he worked as a lawyer in Neuchâtel. In 1861 he married Marie Gullaume. Borel became an auditor and translator in 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 ...

in 1860. In 1870 he was elected inquisitor for western Switzerland by the federal court.

Politics

In 1857 he was elected into the legislative branch (Generalrat) of the city of Neuchâtel for the radical party, which is now the

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland The Free Democratic Party (, FDP; , PLD), also called Radical Democratic Party (, PRD; , PLR) was a liberal political party in Switzerland. Formerly one of the major parties in Switzerland, on 1 January 2009 it merged with the Liberal Party of ...

. He was elected to the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 1864, to the Grand Council of the

canton of Neuchâtel The Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel (; ; ; ) is a mostly French-speaking canton in western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782, of whom 39,654 (or 23.4%) were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel. History County of Neuchâtel ...

and in 1865 he became a member of the State Council (Staatsrat) where he headed the military department from 1865 to 1870 and the department of justice from 1870 to 1872. In 1865 he was elected to the

Swiss Council of States The Council of States is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the other house being the National Council. As the powers of the houses are the same, it is sometimes called perfect bicameralism. It comprises 46 members. Twenty of t ...

which he presided in 1869. He was elected to the

Federal Council of Switzerland The Federal Council is the federal Cabinet (government), cabinet of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and Head of government, government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the F ...

on 7 December 1872 with 37 years. During his office time he held the Department of Posts and Telegraph. He was a key player in the founding of the

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

(UPU) with the Treaty of Bern in 1874. Borel became the first directory of the UPU and therefore resigned from his job as a federal councillor and handed over office on 31 December 1875 to his successor. In 1889 there was a big unrest in

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

. Borel was sent there and, together with troops from

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, he managed to restore order. Borel headed the UPU until his death in 1892. ''Quai Eugène-Borel'' in

is named for him.

References

Works

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borel, Eugene 1835 births 1892 deaths People from Neuchâtel Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Ministers of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Switzerland Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland) Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland judges Universal Postal Union people 19th-century Swiss judges