Robert Bratschi

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Robert Bratschi (born February 6, 1891 in Lengnau BE ; † May 24, 1981 in Bern ) was a Swiss politician ( SP ), trade unionist and railway official.

Biography and professional

Robert Bratschi was the son of the farmer and teacher Jakob Bratschi and Clara Bratschi-Läng. Robert Bratschi grew up in Seeland and attended what was then the technical center in Biel (now a technical college ). After studying engineering , he worked all his working life for the railway, initially as a station clerk with the SBB . He later moved to the SBB administration, where he made a steep career. In 1954 he became director of the BLS , which he remained until 1962. He also became a member of the SBB Board of Directors .

Union

Robert Bratschi has been an active trade unionist for most of his professional life. In 1920, at the age of 29, he became general secretary of the Swiss Railway Union (SEV) . This large union (the second largest in Switzerland) is now known as the Transport Workers Union . He held this office until 1945. From 1946 to 1953 he chaired the SEV. He only withdrew from active union work when he was elected BLS director. From 1934 to 1953 he was also President of the Swiss Confederation of Trade Unions (SBG) and thus in fact the most influential trade unionist in Switzerland. The UBS is by far the largest trade union federation in Switzerland and is traditionally oriented towards social democracy (but the UBS is formally independent of parties). From 1950 to 1953 he presided over the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), the international counterpart to the SEV. Bratschi is one of the co-founders of the Ascoop pension fund , in which employees of public transport companies are insured, and became the first chairman of this pension fund.

politics

The Social Democrat Robert Bratschi was elected to the National Council at a very young age in 1922 , to which he subsequently belonged continuously until 1967, i.e. for 45 years. From 1922 to 1932 he was also a member of the city ​​council (legislature) of the city ​​of Bern and from 1932 to 1952 a member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern . The high point of his political career was the election as President of the National Council in 1958.

As a politician, Robert Bratschi always vehemently supported the means of democracy in the implementation of the goals of Swiss social democracy and rejected the revolutionary currents still present in the SP in his youth. He was a staunch supporter of the integration of the SP into the Swiss concordance system , which was finally achieved in 1959 with the party's permanent representation in the Federal Council . As president of the National Council AHV - Commission he was instrumental in the creation of the AHV Act 1947th

Varia

His best-known publication is the essay On the Ground of Democracy from 1951, in which he recorded his view of the integration of the SP into the Swiss political system. 1970 awarded him the University of Basel the honorary doctorate title.

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personal data
SURNAME Bratschi, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician (SP)
DATE OF BIRTH February 6, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Lengnau BE
DATE OF DEATH May 24, 1981
Place of death Bern