Monique Bauer-Lagier (1 December 1922 - 19 February 2006) was a politician ( LPS) in

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. For cantonal elections

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, her home canton and political base, introduced

female suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffrage was in effect during ...

as early as 1960, but at a national level Switzerland was more of a laggard, retaining male only voting for general elections till

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. This meant that Bauer-Lagier was something of a trail blazer: women's rights featured strongly on her political agenda.

Life

Monique Lagier was born in

Meyrin Meyrin () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. The main site of CERN, the European particle physics research organisation, is in Meyrin. Meyrin was originally a small agricultural village until the ...

, then a farming village in the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...

located a short distance to the north-west of the city. Jean and Thérèse Lagier, her parents, were teachers. She underwent a classical education and passed her school leaving exams (Matura) in 1941. Being female she was not required to perform

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, instead going on directly to obtain a degree in

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

from the Institute of Education Sciences (''" Institut des sciences de l'éducation"'') in

. After this she worked for eight years as a teacher. Her political career started with her election in 1973 to the

cantonal parliament: she retained her seat till 1977. Meanwhile, in 1975 she was elected to the National Council - effectively the lower house of the

Swiss federal parliament The Federal Assembly, also known as the Swiss Parliament, is the federal bicameral parliament of Switzerland. It comprises the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace. The house ...

. She switched to the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

in 1979, remaining a member till 1987. She also became a member of the national committee of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. She supported women's rights and was a strong advocate for the new

marriage law Marriage law is the body of legal specifications and requirements and other laws that regulate the initiation, continuation, and validity of marriages, an aspect of family law, that determine the validity of a marriage, and which vary consider ...

and for equal rights for men and women more broadly in government commissions. She focused on

Minority rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements oft ...

Ecological protection Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

, a new economic world order internationally between north and south, and meaningful dialogue between east and west. She was chair of several organisations - a parliamentary group for refugees, the International Geneva Peace Institute, Swiss Aids Support, Bread for All and the International Union of Swiss language parliamentarians.

Personal

She married Paul-A. Bauer, a physician. The couple had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer-Lagier, Monique 1922 births 2006 deaths People from the canton of Geneva Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Liberal Party of Switzerland politicians Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Canton of Geneva politicians Swiss feminists 20th-century Swiss women politicians Women members of the Council of States (Switzerland) 20th-century Swiss politicians Candidates for the Federal Council (Switzerland)