Walther von Bonstetten

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Walther von Bonstetten (born June 5, 1867 in Bern ; † November 4, 1949 ) was one of the first and most important leaders of the Swiss scout movement .

Life

The son of the Bernese burger family von Bonstetten studied law. After completing his studies with a doctorate , he worked as an attaché at the Swiss embassies in Berlin and London. In London he came into contact with the scout movement that had just emerged and its founder Robert Baden-Powell . After his return to Switzerland, von Bonstetten found out in 1912 that the later archaeologist Louis Blondel had founded a scout group in Geneva , and shortly afterwards he founded the Patria department in Bern with the Lombard brothers . In 1913 the various cantonal associations that had already been formed merged to form the Swiss Boy Scout Association; after an amendment to the statutes, von Bonstetten was elected as the successor of Geneva’s William Borel as central president. He held this post - under changing titles (central president, federal field master, president) - until 1942.

In 1923 von Bonstetten founded the "Scouts International Home" Association , which runs the Kandersteg International Scout Center , the world center of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in Kandersteg , Switzerland . The first Swiss scout camp took place in Bern from July 27th to August 4th in 1925.

Von Bonstetten was involved in the World Scout Committee of the WOSM from 1927 to 1947. In 1928 he received the Silver Buffalo Award from the National Court of Honor of the Boy Scouts of America for remarkable and exceptional achievements for the youth. In 1937 he received the " Bronze Wolf ", the only award from the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for outstanding achievements in worldwide scouting work.

After leaving the diplomatic service, von Bonstetten lived as a private citizen in Bern. In the Swiss military he last held the rank of major. Bonstetten was Betty Lambert's father-in-law .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walther von Bonstetten . Scouts - Scout Movement Switzerland - PBS
  2. ^ The first Swiss scout camp in Bern, July 27th to August 4th. Retrieved June 2, 2020 .
  3. ↑ The Silver Buffalo Award [1] , as of January 28, 2019
  4. ↑ THE BRONZE WOLF: A SHORT HISTORY, Luc Panissod, scout.org on August 7, 2015 [2] , as of January 22, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Bonstetten, Walther von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss founder of the “Scouts International Home” Association
DATE OF BIRTH June 5, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH November 4, 1949