Alphonse Théraulaz

Alphonse Théraulaz

Alphonse Théraulaz (born November 27, 1840 in Versailles , France , † February 1, 1921 in Friborg ) was a Swiss politician and State Councilor of the canton of Friborg .

Life

Alphonse Théraulaz 'parents were Théodore-Pierre Théraulaz, coachman in the service of the French King Louis-Philippe , and the French Marie, nee. Bellanger. Alphonse Théraulaz came to Switzerland when his family settled in Châtel-Saint-Denis. His uncle Jean-Joseph Théraulaz, pastor of the district capital, gave him the first lessons. He then visited the College of St. Michael . In 1859 he joined the Swiss Student Union , a cadre forge of the conservative elite, and became its vice-president (1860) and president (1861–1862). Théraulaz married Pauline Chiffelle in 1862, daughter of a clothes dealer. Widowed twice, he married Anne-Françoise Weiss from Magnedens for the second time in 1881 and Marie-Louise Genoud from Châtel-Saint-Denis for the third time in 1883 .

He was the sponsor and founder of the Freiburg section of the Swiss Alpine Club (1858). He was the fourth Swiss citizen and the first from Freiburg to climb the Matterhorn . As a member of the Cercle de l'Union , he was able to make an extensive network of influential friends, a prerequisite for the rise of a young man of humble origin.

Political career

Initially, Théraulaz embarked on a commercial career. Even after his election to the government, he did not completely give up his private business activities. When Joseph Jacquets resigned in 1874, he initially wanted to apply for his post, but left François-Xavier Menoud first, who was elected on May 8, but refused his election. Then Théraulaz ran and was elected to the Council of State on June 11, 1874 in the third ballot with 36 of 69 votes before Major Repond (33 votes) . He succeeded Jaquets as director of the interior (1874-1880) and dealt with the forest organization (1876), the improvement of animal husbandry through competitions and bonuses as well as the efficient management of the milk and cheese cooperatives. In 1880 he resigned for personal reasons.

In 1881 he was re-elected before Techtermann and took over the building management (1881-1894). Under him the law on hydraulic engineering in the high mountains (1885) and the law on hydraulic engineering (1889) came into force. As the only member of the government, he abstained on September 22, 1889, when a vote was taken on the provisional organization of the university, because he feared financial problems. The cantonal subsidy of 2 million francs for the construction of the Simplon Tunnel (1887) and for the construction of the Vevey – Bulle – Thun and Freiburg – Murten railway lines (1891) were due to him. At that time, Théraulaz had the greatest influence and, with Menoud, dominated the Council of State, which the duo shared as chairman. Théraulaz presided over the government in 1883, 1885, 1888, 1890 and, in a different context, 1898, 1905 and 1907. He was responsible for the selection of the stained glass windows in the Grand Council Chamber: while Berthold IV and Faucigny were undisputed, he chose Nikolaus in place of Nikolaus from Myra and Niklaus von Flüe the statesmen Louis d'Affry and Louis de Weck-Reynold .

His star faded with Menoud's move to the state bank and Georges Python's rise. Théraulaz became finance director and was responsible for the debt caused by the construction of railways, schools and hydroelectric power stations initiated by his competitor Python. He brought through the bonds of 1895, 1899, 1902, 1903 and 1907, which led to the national debt rising from 28 to more than 100 million francs. In doing so, he provided the state with the means for its modernization projects at the price of high burdens: debt servicing came first in government spending. He brought the law on the cantonal bank (1895) and that on the mortgage bank (1907) wrapped up.

Théraulaz was a Grand Councilor (1875-1914) and sat on the Council of States (1882-1883), which he presided over in 1883. After the parliamentary elections in 1884 , he moved to the National Council , to which he was a member until 1914. In the military he last held the rank of captain - quartermaster .

At the beginning of his career Théraulaz was a moderate conservative, but after his election to the State Council he distanced himself from the Cercle de l'Union and placed himself above the groups in the ruling party. More intent on balancing out, he renounced the purge system in his department that the Conservatives practiced after their election victory in 1881. He even gave his former position as Commissioner General back to his former colleague Modeste Bise , who was not re-elected in 1881.

Théraulaz 'political functions meant that he had to take on numerous offices in the non-governmental area. He was a member of the board of directors of the repayment fund of public debt (1881-1911), the mortgage bank of the canton of Friborg (1885-1912), the Swiss National Bank (1906-1913), the Western Switzerland railway company (1883-1889), the Jura-Simplon-Bahn (1890–1902) and the Rheinsalinen (1909–1912). He was one of the patrons of the Swiss village at the Paris World's Fair (1900).

When the scandals began to emerge that were upsetting the conservative regime, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Bank. Knowing the poor management of this company, he preferred to retire from the Council of State in December 1911, at the age of more than 70, and leave Georges Python in charge of what it had created in his creative audacity. In 1914 he gave up all other mandates in order to withdraw into his private life. He died on February 1, 1921 at the age of 81.

literature

• Georges Andrey , John Clerc, Jean-Pierre Dorand et Nicolas Gex: The Freiburg Council of State: 1848–2011. History, organization, members . Editions La Sarine, Freiburg 2012, ISBN 978-2-88355-153-4 .

Web links

• Pierre-Philippe Bugnard and GL: Théraulaz, Alphonse. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .