Joseph Girard

Joseph Girard (born October 9, 1815 in Carouge , † June 25, 1890 in Nyon ) was a Swiss politician and judge . From 1848 to 1851 he was a member of the National Council and in 1853/54 the Council of States . He was also a State Councilor for the Canton of Geneva .

biography

The son of a businessman studied law at the Geneva Academy from 1835 . From 1840 he practiced as a lawyer and made a name for himself with his pleadings and radical liberal views. After the liberal revolution of 1846, Girard decided to become politically active. He ran successfully in the first National Council elections in October 1848 . Three years later he resigned as member of the National Council, since he had taken on two other offices in the meantime.

In 1850 Girard was elected to the Grand Council of the Canton of Geneva, which in turn elected him to the State Council in 1851. In the government he was responsible for the justice and police departments. There were often arguments with the authoritarian James Fazy . Girard resigned after two years and became a judge at the Court of Cassation. In 1853/54 he represented the canton of Geneva in the Council of States. He remained on the Grand Council until 1854, and from 1856 to 1860 he held this mandate again. From 1856 Girard worked as an examining magistrate. In 1873 he had to resign due to illness and later moved to Nyon. He bequeathed his entire inheritance to his home town of Carouge, where a street named after him commemorates him.

Web links

• Jean de Senarclens: Girard, Joseph. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Biography on the website of the Canton of Geneva (French)