Maurice Barman

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Maurice Barman (born August 7, 1808 in Saint-Maurice , † August 4, 1878 in Saillon ) was a Swiss politician . From 1848 to 1857 he was a member of the National Council. From 1840 to 1843, from 1848 to 1850 and from 1852 to 1857 he was State Councilor for the Canton of Valais . Two of his brothers also shaped the Valais: Louis Barman as a national councilor, Joseph-Hyacinthe Barman as a high military officer.

biography

The son of a notary and chief judge graduated from the college in Saint-Maurice and the law school in the canton capital Sion . He then ran a large farm in the municipality of Saillon. From 1835 to 1877 he served there as mayor . During the era of regeneration, Valais was characterized by violent clashes between radical liberals and Catholic conservatives . From 1831 to 1839 Barman represented the politically disadvantaged Lower Valais in the district administrator .

After a new liberal cantonal constitution came into force, the previously dominant Upper Valais was not prepared to renounce traditional rights of rule, and a reactionary counter-government was formed in 1840 with its seat in Sierre . With the approval of the Diet , Barman then led the Lower Valais troops, deposed the secessionists and forced the introduction of a new constitution. As a Councilor of State from 1840 he sought a balance between the irreconcilable positions of Upper Valais and Young Switzerland , a radical movement inspired by Giuseppe Mazzini . In the dispute over the immunity of church institutions, he resigned his government office and took over the chairmanship of the Comitée de Martigny , a political renewal movement that wanted to enforce democratic principles in Valais.

On May 21, 1844, irregulars from Young Switzerland suffered a heavy defeat in the battle on Trento near Vernayaz , whereupon the conservatives seized power. Leading radical liberal exponents then had to flee into exile and mostly stayed in the neighboring canton of Vaud . Barman himself temporarily settled in Bex . After the surrender of Valais in the Sonderbund War , the radicals returned to their homeland at the end of November 1847 in an actual triumphal march. Barman sat at the head of the provisional government and subsequently had a great influence on legislation. From 1848 to 1850 and from 1852 he was again a member of the State Council and headed the Department for Public Buildings. In addition, he dealt with questions of agriculture and education and initiated infrastructure projects that were only implemented by his successors.

Barman ran in the first national parliamentary elections in October 1848 and was elected in the constituency of Lower Valais . He was re-elected twice in a row. At the same time, he was Prefect of the Martigny district from 1850 to 1853 . The Catholic Conservatives gradually managed to regain influence, now in a democratic way. In 1857 Barman was voted out of office as both National Councilor and State Councilor. He then limited himself to his office as mayor of Saillon.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Silvia Arlettaz: Wallis. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  2. ↑ Le Comité de Martigny. Valais libre, February 15, 2012, accessed December 1, 2014 (French).
  3. ↑ La bataille du Trento: une guerre civile enflamme le pays. (PDF, 108 kB) Le Courrier, July 5, 2014, accessed on December 1, 2014 (French).
personal data
SURNAME Barman, Maurice
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1808
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Maurice
DATE OF DEATH 4th August 1878
Place of death Saillon