Marcel Blanc (12 March 1935 – 24 March 2023) was a Swiss farmer and politician of the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC). He served on the

Council of State of Vaud The Council of State of the Canton of Vaud () is the List of cantonal executives of Switzerland, executive organ of the Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a seven-member ''Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland), Conseil d'Ét ...

from 1978 to 1991 as head of the Department of Public Works.

Biography

Blanc was born in

Brenles Brenles is a former municipality in the district Broye-Vully in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. In 2017 the former municipalities of Brenles, Chesalles-sur-Moudon, Cremin, Forel-sur-Lucens and Sarzens merged into the municipality of Luc ...

on 12 March 1935 to a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

family who took refuge in Switzerland after the

Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to prac ...

. After training to become a farmer, he took over a field in his hometown. In 1957, Blanc was elected to the municipal council of Brenles as a member of the UDC. In 1970, he was elected to the

Grand Council of Vaud The Grand Council of Vaud () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years. In May 1981, Marguerite ...

and became president of the UDC in the

Canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...

. He then became vice-president of the UDC nation-wide. Blanc was elected to the Council of State of Vaud in 1978, succeeding his fellow party member . On 7 March 1982, he was re-elected to a second term, finishing second on the ballot behind Radical Democratic Party member

Jean-Pascal Delamuraz Jean-Pascal Delamuraz (1 April 1936, in Vevey – 4 October 1998 in Lausanne) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1983–1998). He obtained a degree in political science in 1960 from the University of Lausanne an ...

. He was again re-elected in 1986 in the second round of elections. He was re-elected for a third time in 1990. In 1991, he resigned from his position, leaving office on 30 November. During his mandate, Blanc was head of the Department of Public Works. He twice chaired the cantonal government, in 1982 and 1988. In 1991, the socialist Daniel Schmutz succeeded him as head of the public works department, while was elected to succeed him from the UDC and headed the Department of Finances. Marcel Blanc died on 24 March 2023, at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Marcel 1935 births 2023 deaths Swiss people of French descent Swiss farmers 20th-century farmers Swiss People's Party politicians People from Broye-Vully District