Lilian Uchtenhagen (7 September 1928 – 6 September 2016) was a Swiss politician and economist. She was one of the ten first women elected to the National Council, the Swiss Parliament's house and first women to be a candidate to the Federal Council, the Government of Switzerland.
Early life and education
Uchtenhagen was born in 1928 at Olten in the Canton of Solothurn, the daughter of a businessman. [1] [2] She studied political science at the University of Basel and at the London School of Economics (LSE) and graduated in 1954 from the University of Basel. [2]
Political career
She was elected in to the Municipal Council of Zurich in 1970, from which she resigned in 1974. [3] After women gained the right to vote in national elections in 1971, Uchtenhagen joined the Social Democratic Party (SP), [3] and was one of the first ten women to be elected to the National Council, the Federal Assembly of Switzerland's Lower House. [2] [4] She served in the National Council from 29 November 1971 to 24 November 1991. [2] [1] [3] As the first female candidate in history, she received the nomination from the Social Democratic Party to succeed Willi Ritschard in the Swiss Federal Council in 1983. [3] She lost her bid to Otto Stich also from her party; [5] but supported by the rivaling conservative parties. [3] The TIME magazine article "Ladies Last" states that she lost her bid because of male reluctance to allow for a woman to serve on the council. [1] [6]
Professional career
Lilian Uchtenhagen served as the president of Zürich's Coop retail chain from 1981 to 1997, and was president of the charitable organization Swissaid from 1998 to 2003. [2]
Personal life
A resident of the Canton of Zürich and the wife of Ambros Uchtenhagen, a Swiss psychiatrist [7] credited with the initiating of the establishment of the national drug policy. [3] Uchtenhagen died on 6 September 2016, the eve of her 88th birthday. [8] [4]
References
- ^ a b c "Ratsmitglied ansehen". www.parlament.ch. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
- ^ a b c d e Baertschi, Christian (2013), "Uchtenhagen, Lilian", Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, retrieved 9 September 2016
- ^ a b c d e f "Schweiz - Erste Bundesratskandidatin: Lilian Uchtenhagen gestorben". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (in German). 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
- ^ a b "Lilian Uchtenhagen – Ein Vorbild ist gestorben" (in German). 10vor10. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ Strehle, Res (8 September 2016). "Links und gesellschaftlich liberal – ohne Widerspruch". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Ladies Last", TIME, 6 February 1984.
- ^ Angst, Jules (1999). "Ambros Uchtenhagen". European Addiction Research. 5 (2): 97–101. doi: 10.1159/000018973. ISSN 1022-6877. PMID 10394041.
- ^ Première femme candidate au Conseil fédéral Lilian Uchtenhagen est morte (in French)
External links
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- 1928 births
- 2016 deaths
- Members of the National Council (Switzerland)
- Women members of the National Council (Switzerland)
- Swiss women economists
- Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- University of Basel alumni
- People from Olten
- 20th-century Swiss economists
- 21st-century Swiss economists
- 20th-century Swiss women politicians
- 21st-century Swiss women politicians
- 20th-century Swiss politicians
- 21st-century Swiss politicians
- Swiss politician stubs