Fridolin Anderwert (19 September 1828, in

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld (Alemannic German, Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard Ge ...

– 25 December 1880) was a Swiss politician. 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 December 1875 and was member of the council until 25 December 1880. He was affiliated to 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 ...

. During his office time he held the Department of Justice and Police and was Vice-

President of the Swiss Confederation The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the confederation, federal president or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is as ''primus inter pares'' among the other members of the Federal Council (Switze ...

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 brothels. Drawn by physical exhaustion and severe depression, Anderwert killed himself 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."

References

1828 births 1880 deaths People from Frauenfeld Swiss Old Catholics Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Justice ministers of Switzerland Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1878–1881 Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland judges Politicians who died by suicide Suicides by firearm in Switzerland 19th-century Swiss judges Heads of state who died by suicide {{Switzerland-politician-stub