Marius Cottier
Marius Cottier (born April 14, 1937 in Jaun ; † March 7, 2019 ) was a Swiss politician ( CVP ) and State Councilor of the canton of Friborg .
Live and act
His parents were Albert Cottier, forester, and Lina geb. Vonlanthen, landlady. He was the third of seven children who all studied. In 1966 he married Ilsemarie Dechamps, of German nationality. The couple had four children who grew up in Freiburg. His brother Anton (1943–2006) was a Councilor of States , his cousin Max Aebischer was Freiburg Mayor, State Councilor and National Councilor.
After primary school in Jaun, the 12-year-old attended the St. Michael College as an intern and completed it with the Latin-Greek Matura . He learned English during a stay of several months in Great Britain.
After his return to Switzerland, he completed the rigorous training to become a military pilot and received his diploma in 1960. He completed his legal studies at the University of Freiburg in 1966 with a doctorate . After an internship he was admitted to the bar in 1968 and opened his law firm in the city of Freiburg at the age of 31. Since 1968 member of the Conservative People's Party (CVP from 1970), from 1970 to 1972 he headed the young Conservatives and also the CVP commission for university questions in the context of " May 1968 ". In 1972 he was elected to the university council after having helped found the adult education center in 1970.
In 1976 Marius Cottier ran for the Council of State. In the second ballot on December 5th, in which eight candidates fought for six seats, he achieved the top result with 53% of the vote and was in first place in the Sense and Gruyère district .
In the government he headed the Education and Culture Directorate, which in 1980 became the Directorate for Education and Cultural Affairs. During his first term in office, he submitted nine laws and eight decrees to the Grand Council . The former included in particular those about the conservatory , which was previously a private institution, about the reorganization of the university (both in 1978) and about the organization of the Evangelical Reformed Church. The decrees dealt in particular with the expansion of the Museum of Art and History (1978) and the Holy Cross College (1980); the latter was approved in the referendum with 61% of the vote.
In 1981 Marius Cottier ran for a second mandate. After nobody had achieved an absolute majority in the first ballot, he was re-elected in the second ballot on December 6th as second of eight competitors. In the new term of office he submitted five laws and six decrees to the Grand Council. In the classroom, the emphasis was on compulsory schooling: the centenary law of 1884 was replaced by the law of 1985, which focused on the orientation level and kindergarten. In the same year the canton joined the intercantonal agreement of 1984 on the financing of universities. In the cultural field, the state granted a loan in 1986 for the promising excavations in Vallon ( Broye district ); the amazing finds formed the basis of the Roman Museum there.
In the 1980s, Councilor of State Cottier dealt with an important but sensitive issue: bilingualism. In his opinion, the time had come to pass a law to "prepare the people" for. In this context, he wanted a dialogue between the two most important language associations: the German-Friborg Working Group and the Communauté romande du pays de Friborg.
In 1986 Marius Cottier was re-elected for a third and final term. He invested a lot of energy in sport. Although the project to set up cantonal sports centers was rejected by the people on September 25, 1988, "Monsieur Sport" was able to inaugurate 49 sports halls in all regions of the canton in 15 years.
During the last two years of his tenure, Marius Cottier dealt with important laws. They concerned relations between the churches and the state and the recognition of the Israelite community (1990) as well as middle school education, cultural affairs, cultural institutions and the protection of cultural property (1991). The state financially supported the establishment of the Théâtre des Osses in Givisiez and the Freiburg Opera. The cantonal cultural budget now included the purchase of at least one work by a living Freiburg artist each year.
After chairing the State Council in 1983 and 1990, Marius Cottier left the government on December 31, 1991 at the age of 54, but remained very active. From 1992 to 2002 he chaired the board of directors of the Association of Swiss Raiffeisen Banks , whose headquarters are in St. Gallen , and of the foundation of the St. Joseph Institute in the Gauglera, whose mission is social. In 1989 he became a member, in 1992 a board member and then vice president of the Sport-Toto-Gesellschaft . In 1997 he was one of the co-founders of Espace Jean Tinguely - Niki de Saint Phalle in Freiburg city center.
literature
- Georges Andrey , Hubertus von Gemmingen (translation): The Freiburg State Council: 1848–2011; History, organization, members . Ed .: John Clerc, Jean-Pierre Dorand, Nicholas Gex. Paulus, Freiburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-7228-0815-4 .
- Marius Cottier, former State Councilor on the website of the canton of Friborg
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Marianne role: Aebischer, Max. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cottier, Marius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss politician (CVP) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 14, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jaun |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 2019 |