Albert Jucker

Albert Jucker

Albert Jucker (born August 26, 1844 in Winterthur ; † December 3, 1885 in Bangkok ) was a Swiss entrepreneur and the founder of the first Swiss company in Siam .

biography

Jucker was the only son of an old middle class family from Winterthur. After finishing school, he went to Paris at the age of 19 , where he wanted to learn about international trade. He found a job at Malherbe & Jullien & Co. , which was mainly active in import and export with Cochinchina (Vietnam) and had a branch office in Saigon . When the company opened another branch in Bangkok in 1866, Jucker was sent there as an assistant. In 1872 he became managing director in Siam. He convinced his cousin Henry Sigg from Winterthur to follow him to Siam in 1873.

In 1882, when the centenary of the founding of the Chakri dynasty was celebrated in Bangkok , the idea of ​​founding his own company matured in Jucker. Malherbe and Jullien sold their shares in the subsidiary in Siam to Jucker, who became the sole proprietor. The new company was called Jucker & Sigg & Co. and became the predecessor of today's Berli Jucker . The business premises were in the old Portuguese quarter of the town of Santa Cruz (now Kudichin) on the west bank of the Mae Nam Chao Phraya . Together with his cousin, Jucker also hired two other Swiss assistants, B. E. Mohn and A. Hoffmann. Jucker & Sigg continued the business of Malherbe & Jullien as merchants, ship chandlers and exporters of teak in Siam. A large rice mill and an agency for insurance and money transactions were also part of the business.

By the age of 38, Jucker was well known and respected in Siam. He received awards from King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Rama V) and Umberto I of Italy, who also appointed him Honorary Consul of Italy in Siam and gave him the title of Cavalier .

In 1868 Jucker married Paula da Cruz (1850-1934), a Siamese of Portuguese descent of Catholic faith. Children: Mary (* 1870), Henry (1873–1954), Albert (1880–1936), Edward (1882–1976) and Elise (1885–1970).

Albert Jucker died of cholera on December 3, 1885 at the age of 41 . His widow and five children went to Winterthur, Switzerland, where they received a good education. After the children grew up, Paula returned to Bangkok and lived in a residence on Surawongse Street until her death.

Web links

Commons : Albert Jucker  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Walter Meyer: "100 Years of Berli Jucker" (PDF; 1.9 MB) Bangkok, November 1982 (English)