Walter Bissegger

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Walter Bissegger (also Walther Bissegger ; born October 5, 1853 in Bernrain ; † April 30, 1915 in Zurich , legal resident in Bussnang and from 1899 in Zurich) was a Swiss politician ( FDP ) and journalist .

Live and act

After graduating from high school in 1872, Bissegger studied theology for one semester in Basel before turning to German studies and history . He later studied philosophy in Leipzig and received his doctorate in Basel in 1877. During his studies he joined the Swiss Zofinger Association . From 1878 to 1883 Bissegger was a high school teacher and local correspondent for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) in Basel. From 1883 to 1885 he was a foreign editor and then until 1915 editor-in-chief of the NZZ. He was committed to the professionalization of journalism in the newly founded Association of the Swiss Press (today imprint ), of which he was central president from 1892 to 1894.

From 1892 to 1911 he was a member of the Zurich City Council ( legislature ) and was its president in the year of office in 1899. From 1893 to 1915 he was a member of the Cantonal Council of the Canton of Zurich and was President there in 1903/04. He was the spokesman for Zurich Freedom in both parliaments . After the parliamentary elections in 1905, he sat in the National Council until 1915 , where he was in charge of the reorganization of the federal administration as well as the commission president for the creation of the Swiss National Park . From 1907 to 1911 he was President of the FDP Switzerland .

As a progressive politician, Bissegger saw the left-wing liberals (democrats) as his allies and advocated a comprehensive social policy and an understanding with the social democrats . However, he rejected their class struggle theory and anti-militarism . But his goal of reconciling class differences under liberal leadership failed before the outbreak of the First World War . But he found high recognition beyond the party lines, among other things as an outstanding journalist and as a credible reform politician .

Works (selection)

  • Relations between town and country (in the canton of Zurich). Lecture given on March 7, 1909 in Zurich. Printer of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 1909.
  • Swiss character and the question of foreigners. Lectures given at the centenary of the Swiss non-profit organization in Zurich by National Councilor Dr. Walter Bissegger, National Councilor Dr. Emil Göttisheim, Edmond Boissier. Gebr. Leemann & Co., Zurich 1910.
  • The free-spirited democratic party and social democracy. Speech given on March 10, 1910 in the Free Democratic Association of the City of Basel. Printer of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 1910.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walther Hünerwadel: Varia from eight decades. Three autobiographical sketches, speeches and essays in the service of the Winterthur Cantonal School and in memory of Winterthur schoolmen. In: Rudolf Hunziker, Walther Hünerwadel, Walter Hildebrandt: From Winterthur's cultural history in the 19th and 20th centuries (= gift from the Winterthur Literary Association . Volume 62). Verlag W. Vogel, Winterthur 1957, p. 79.
personal data
SURNAME Bissegger, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bissegger, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician (FDP)
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH Bernrain
DATE OF DEATH April 30, 1915
Place of death Zurich