Xavier Joseph Haegy (December 2, 1870, Hirsingue – May 11, 1932) was an Alsatian priest, journalist and politician. A staunch proponent of Alsatian regionalism, Haegy was a major media proprietor in Alsace and was elected deputy of the

Zentrumspartei The Centre Party (, Z), officially the German Centre Party (, DZP) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party, is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic political party in Germany. It was most influential in the German Empire a ...

in 1913–18.

Life

Born in Hirsingue, he was the sworn enemy of the abbé Wetterlé and was an ardent

Francophobe Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is the fear of, discrimination against, prejudice of, or hatred towards France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use Fr ...

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

origin who was more at ease speaking with peasants than in the

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

s of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. As a result, he had a great deal of popular success while at the same time remaining limited in his appeal to the

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

ie of Alsace. Stubborn on the point of

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

, he was nevertheless fairly liberal on social matters and attempted to promote

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

syndicalism. He died in

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

References

1870 births 1932 deaths People from Haut-Rhin 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests Centre Party (Germany) politicians Members of the 13th Reichstag of the German Empire Politicians of the French Third Republic French journalists French male non-fiction writers {{France-journalist-stub