Johannes Duke

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Johannes Duke

Johannes Herzog (von Effingen) (born January 17, 1773 in Effingen , † December 21, 1840 in Brugg ) was a Swiss politician and businessman. He is considered one of the most important politicians in the canton of Aargau . He is the grandfather of General Hans Herzog .

biography

The son of a homeworker and cotton merchant attended elementary school in Effingen and Brugg . He later moved to Moudon , where he received training in French and commercial subjects. He married in 1789 and became wealthy as a textile merchant. Herzog settled in Brugg and acquired citizenship in 1797 for 1,500 guilders. In 1800 he founded a cotton mill in Aarau . Ten years later, he was the first manufacturer in the canton to switch to machine operation. He commissioned Hans Caspar Escher with the construction of a representative manufacturer's villa, the Herzoggut (today Herosé-Stift ).

After the French conquered Switzerland in March 1798, Herzog became a member of the Grand Council, the parliament of the newly founded Helvetic Republic . During the Second Coalition War in 1799 he took over the function of the Helvetian commissioner in the French army command. After a coup d'état , he lost his mandate as a councilor in 1800 and instead became governor of the Aargau. Because he proved to be insufficiently compliant with the government, he had to resign after only three months.

After the canton of Aargau was founded in 1803, he was elected to the cantonal parliament, the Grand Council , where he belonged to the liberal parliamentary group. After serving as an appellate judge for a year, he was promoted to the nine-member Kleinrat (government) in 1807, which, according to the constitution at the time, held almost all power.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1814, restorative tendencies also became noticeable in the comparatively liberal canton of Aargau . The Small Council ruled more and more authoritarian. Herzog played a leading role in the government and, from 1821 onwards, took over the office of district president (called mayor) in odd years. As an envoy to the Federal Diet , he mainly dealt with trade and transport issues.

More and more people began to speak of the “Duchy of Aargau”, alluding to the authoritarian leadership style. Johannes Herzog used to call himself "von Effingen" after the model of the expelled Bernese rulers, although he was not of noble origin. The government's inability to reform led in December 1830 to the bloodless storm of Freiamt , led by Johann Heinrich Fischer . The entire government then had to resign.

A year later, however, Herzog was re-elected to the government. Because the new constitution of 1831 provided for the separation of powers for the first time , he renounced the government office and remained a member of the Grand Council until his death, which he chaired for a total of thirteen years.

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personal data
SURNAME Duke, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Effingen
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1840
Place of death Brugg