Karl Schenk
Johann Karl Emmanuel Schenk (1 December 1823 – 18 July 1895) was a Swiss pastor, politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1863–1895). As of 2008, he is still the longest-serving member. Late in life he became one of the first leaders of the Swiss Red Cross.
Life and work
Schenk was born in 1823 in Bern, Switzerland, as the son of Christian Schenk. At the age of eleven, he became an orphan and lived in Korntal (Germany). From 1839 to 1842 he attended school in Bern and then studied theology. He completed his studies at the age of 22. In 1845 he became vicar and later pastor at Schüpfen. In 1848, he married Elise Kähr. The couple had nine children, two of which died at young age.
He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 12 December 1863 and died in office 31 years later, on 18 July 1895. He was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland.
During his time in office he held the following departments:
- Department of Home Affairs (1864)
- Political Department (Foreign ministry) as President of the Confederation (1865)
- Department of Home Affairs (1866 - 1870)
- Political Department as President of the Confederation (1871)
- Department of Home Affairs (1872)
- Department of Finance (1872)
- Department of Home Affairs (1873)
- Political Department as President of the Confederation (1874)
- Department of Railway and Trade (1875 - 1877)
- Political Department as President of the Confederation (1878)
- Department of Home Affairs (1879 - 1884)
- Political Department as President of the Confederation (1885)
- Department of Home Affairs (1886 - 1895)
He was President of the Confederation six times in 1865, 1871, 1874, 1878, 1885 and 1893.
Schenk also served as President of the Swiss Red Cross from 1873-1882.
Death and legacy
Schenk died 1895 in Bern, and was buried at Bremgartenfriedhof.
The local museum of Langnau im Emmental "Chüechlihus" includes a section on him. Schenkstrasse in Bern is named for him. Further, a house at Spitalgasse in Bern is named Karl-Schenk-Haus and its passage Karl-Schenk-Haus-Passage or Karl-Schenk-Passage.
Further reading
- Rossel, Virgile (1909). Un magistrat républicain : le conseiller fédéral Schenk (in French). Delémont.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karl Schenk. |
- "Bundesrat Johann Carl Emmanuel Schenk" (PDF). (35.4 KiB) (German)
- Profile of Karl Schenk with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council.
- Karl Geiser. (1910), "Schenk, Karl", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 55, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 165–171
- Franziska Metzger (2005), "Schenk, Carl", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 22, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 672–673; (full text online)
- Karl Schenk in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
Preceded by Eduard Häberlin |
President of the Council of States 1863/1864 |
Succeeded by Jules Roguin |
Preceded by Jakob Stämpfli |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1863–1895 |
Succeeded by Eduard Müller |