Karl Schenk

Karl Schenk
President of Switzerland
In office 1 January 1893 – 31 December 1893
Preceded by	Walter Hauser
Succeeded by	Emil Frey
In office 1 January 1885 – 31 December 1885
Preceded by	Emil Welti
Succeeded by	Adolf Deucher
In office 1 January 1878 – 31 December 1878
Preceded by	Joachim Heer
Succeeded by	Emil Welti
In office 1 January 1874 – 31 December 1874
Preceded by	Paul Cérésole
Succeeded by	Johann Jakob Scherer
In office 1 January 1871 – 31 December 1871
Preceded by	Jakob Dubs
Succeeded by	Emil Welti
In office 1 January 1865 – 31 December 1865
Preceded by	Jakob Dubs
Succeeded by	Melchior Josef Martin Knüsel
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
In office 12 December 1863 – 18 July 1895
Preceded by	Jakob Stämpfli
Succeeded by	Eduard Müller
Personal details
Born	1 December 1823 Bern,Switzerland
Died	18 July 1895 (aged 71) Bern, Switzerland
Political party	Free Democratic Party

Johann Karl Emmanuel Schenk(1 December 1823 – 18 July 1895) was a Swiss pastor, politician, and member of theSwiss Federal Councilfrom 1863 until his death in 1895. Serving for 31 years and 218 days, he was the longest-serving member in the Federal Council. Later in life he became one of the first leaders of theSwiss Red Cross.

Life and work

Schenk was born in 1823 inBern,Switzerland,as the son of Christian Schenk. At the age of eleven, he became an orphan and lived inKorntal(Germany). From 1839 to 1842 he attended school in Bern and then studiedtheology.He completed his studies at the age of 22. In 1845 he became vicar and later pastor atSchüpfen.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 theFree Democratic Party of Switzerland.

During his time in office he held the following departments:

• Department of Home Affairs(1864)
• Political Department(Foreign ministry) asPresident 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 wasPresident of the Confederationsix times in 1865, 1871, 1874, 1878, 1885 and 1893.

Schenk also served as President of theSwiss Red Crossfrom 1873–1882.

Death and legacy

Schenk died 1895 inBern,and was buried atBremgartenfriedhof.

The local museum ofLangnau im Emmental"Chüechlihus" includes a section on him.Schenkstrassein Bern is named after him. Further, the house at Spitalgasse 4 in the city of Bern is namedKarl-Schenk-Hausand its passageKarl-Schenk-Haus-PassageorKarl-Schenk-Passage.

Further reading

• Rossel, Virgile(1909).Un magistrat républicain: le conseiller fédéral Schenk(in French). Delémont.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• "Bundesrat Johann Carl Emmanuel Schenk"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2006-11-10.Retrieved2006-08-05.(35.4KiB)(in German)
• Profile of Karl Schenkwith election results on thewebsite of the Swiss Federal Council.
• Karl Geiser. (1910), "Schenk, Karl",Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie(in German), vol. 55, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 165–171
• Franziska Metzger (2005),"Schenk, Carl",Neue Deutsche Biographie(in German), vol. 22, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 672–673;(full text online)
• Karl SchenkinGerman,FrenchandItalianin the onlineHistorical Dictionary of Switzerland.