Théodore Ayer

Theodore Ayer

Théodore Ayer (born July 25, 1905 in Romont , † December 1, 1974 in Friborg ) was a Swiss politician ( CVP ) and State Councilor of the canton of Friborg .

Live and act

Ayer, Catholic by nature, comes from Sorens and Romont. His parents were Alphonse Ayer, land registry administrator for the Glanebezirks , and Anna geb. Vorlet, housewife, daughter of a doctor. According to family tradition, Théodore, the second of eleven children, was baptized a Roman Catholic and completed his entire political career in the “great old party”. He married Marie-Louise Grand, daughter of Eugène (1870–1937), national councilor, and granddaughter of Louis (1843-1909), national councilor; both were members of the Catholic Conservative Party. Théodore's son Christian Ayer, was also a conservative councilor for the city of Freiburg.

After attending primary school in Romont and the St. Michael college , Théodore Ayer studied law at the University of Freiburg , which he graduated with a licentiate in 1929 . He became the clerk of the Romont district court of justice. In 1932 he opened a notary's office in his hometown . In 1937 he became a member of the board of directors of the Banque de la Glâne, of which he was a member for 37 years until his last days.

The 36-year-old lawyer made his political breakthrough in 1941: he was appointed Ammann of the city of Romont and elected to the Grand Council on the conservative list of the Glanebezir . In 1950 he headed the cantonal parliament. At that time he was one of the most famous personalities in his region. In 1947 he ran for the National Council .

In the general election of 1951, Théodore Ayer was elected to the Council of State , to which he was a member for 15 years (1952–1966). He chaired the council in 1957, in which the 800th anniversary of Friborg was celebrated, and in 1964, the year of the national exhibition in Lausanne , in which each canton was officially welcomed and celebrated.

From 1952 to 1966 Théodore Ayer headed the finance department, from April to December 1966 the director of the interior. Compared to those of its predecessors, its record was impressive in quantitative terms: 93 laws and decrees that the cantonal parliament advised and passed. The most important laws concerned the property gains tax (1959), the state financial administration (1960), the municipal and parish taxes (1963), the wages and salaries of state staff (1964) and the status of the pension fund of the canton of Friborg (1965). The decrees included those authorizing the state bank to take out public loans (1957, 1964, 1966) and those with a social note: State contribution to the social fund (1952), annual increase in primary teachers' salaries (1959) and bonuses for years of service of state personnel (1964). An important decree was to increase the endowment capital of the Freiburg electricity works from 40 to 60 million francs. Ayer managed the dossier of the expansion of the State Chancellery, which met fierce opposition, and finally renounced pressure from the federal government on the project.

On December 31, 1966, Théodore Ayer resigned from the State Council at the age of 61. Until 1973 he continued to head the board of directors of the Freiburg State Bank , in which he has represented the government since 1952. In accordance with his political and religious convictions, he directed the Cercle catholique.

Théodore Ayer died on December 1, 1974 at the age of 69 in Freiburg. He left the memory of a politician who modernized the canton's public finances .

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 .

Web links

• Georges Andrey / FSC: Ayer, Théodore. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .