Charles Bontems

Charles Bontems (born March 1, 1796 in Paris , † August 6, 1879 in Orbe ) was a Swiss politician , division general and judge . From 1851 to 1854 and from 1857 to 1869 he was a member of the National Council.

biography

Bontems was the son of a banker from Villeneuve who was active in revolutionary France . From him he inherited extensive property in Orbe. From 1815 Bontems made a military career as a traveler in the French service, from 1830 in Switzerland. In 1838 the so-called Napoleon Trade came about when France ultimately demanded that Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte leave the country and mobilized troops. During this time, Bontems was chief of staff, and from 1839 colonel in the federal general staff . As a division general , he commanded various divisions between 1856 and 1871.

Politically, Bontems took moderately liberal views. He was elected to the Grand Council of the Canton of Vaud in 1830 , but resigned a year later. From 1832 to 1836 he was a judge at the district court in Aigle , from 1839 to 1845 at the district court in Orbe. Also in 1845 he returned to the Grand Council, to which he belonged continuously until 1869. After he had run unsuccessfully for the National Council in 1848, Bontems was elected in the National Council elections in 1851 in the Vaud-West constituency. In 1854 he was not re-elected, and in 1857 he returned to the National Council. From 1863 he represented the constituency of Vaud North .

Web links

• Sabine Carruzzo-Frey: Bontems, Charles. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .