Marcel Naville

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Marcel Alfred Naville (born August 12, 1919 in Genthod , † October 8, 2003 in Meyrin ) was a Swiss banker . After studying Classical Philology , he initially worked for the Federal Political Department and for the Legal Department of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during the Second World War . After the war he switched to banking. In 1969 he was elected President of the ICRC and held this office until 1973.

Life

Marcel Naville

Marcel Naville was born in Genthod on August 12, 1919. He studied Classical Philology at the University of Geneva and completed his studies with a licentiate ( Licencié ès Lettres classiques ), a degree comparable to the Magister . During the Second World War he worked for the Federal Political Department and for the legal department of the International Committee of the Red Cross. After the end of the war, he stayed for further studies in Rome and Paris . He then began a career in banking and from 1965 was director of the Geneva branch of the Swiss National Bank .

Naville was married to Béatrice Naville geb. Network. Together they had two daughters and a son.

ICRC presidency

In 1967 Naville was co-opted as a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross . His grandfather Edouard Naville , who was a member of the committee from 1898 to 1922 and headed its International Central Office for Prisoners of War during the First World War , had been vice president and interim president of the committee from 1916 to 1920. In January 1969, Naville was unanimously elected President of the ICRC , replacing Samuel Gonard , who had left the office for reasons of age.

During his tenure, the ICRC was involved in the Biafra War , a dispute over the independence of the Biafra region from Nigeria . This conflict presented the ICRC with its greatest challenge since World War II. His work was characterized by traditional quiet diplomacy and strict neutrality. Dissatisfaction with this approach led to the establishment of the aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in 1971 by French doctors led by Bernard Kouchner . It was also shown that the French and Swedish Red Cross in particular supported the population in Biafra, in some cases unilaterally. This was due to attempts by the rebels in Biafra to influence public opinion in Europe in their favor. Through these developments, the ICRC's mission in Biafra also revealed problems within the leadership of the ICRC in coordinating the mission and with regard to the committee's claim to leadership within the International Red Cross Movement.

Naville's other activities in his role as ICRC President included visits to Poland , the Soviet Union and the USA , where he spoke with then President Richard Nixon about the war-related humanitarian problems in Vietnam . In September 1971, he traveled to China to meet with representatives from the government and the country's National Red Cross Society about problems with the acceptance of the Red Cross that arose as a result of the Cultural Revolution .

In July 1973, Eric Martin, a doctor from Geneva, was elected to succeed Naville as President of the ICRC. This decision was considered a surprise, as almost all committee presidents have left office at their own request. In addition, it is customary within the committee to grant an incumbent president a second term if he so wishes.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Naville, Marcel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Naville, Marcel Alfred (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss banker, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (1969–1973)
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Genthod
DATE OF DEATH October 8, 2003
Place of death Meyrin