Editing Jonas Furrer

{{Short description|1st president of the Swiss Confederation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Jonas Furrer
| image=Porträt Jonas Furrer.jpg
| party= [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Free Democratic Party]]
| office1=[[Member of the Swiss Federal Council]]
| term_start1=16 November 1848
| term_end1=25 July 1861
| office2= [[President of the Confederation (Switzerland)|President of the Confederation]] 
| term_start2=21 November 1848
| term_end2=31 December 1849
| predecessor2= ''Office established''
| successor2= [[Henri Druey]]
| office3= [[President of the Confederation (Switzerland)|President of the Confederation]] 
| term_start3=1 January 1852
| term_end3=31 December 1852
| predecessor3= [[Josef Munzinger]]
| successor3= [[Wilhelm Matthias Naeff]]
| office4= [[President of the Confederation (Switzerland)|President of the Confederation]] 
| term_start4=1 January 1855
| term_end4=31 December 1855
| predecessor4= [[Friedrich Frey-Herosé]]
| successor4= [[Jakob Stämpfli]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1805|3|3|df=y}}
| birth_place=[[Winterthur]], [[canton of Zürich]], [[Switzerland in the Napoleonic era|Switzerland]]
| death_date={{death date and age|1861|7|25|1805|3|3|df=y}}
| death_place=[[Bad Ragaz]], [[Switzerland]]
|}}
'''Jonas Furrer''' (3 March 1805 – 25 July 1861) was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as a member of the [[Swiss Federal Council|Federal Council]], from 1848 to 1861, and as the first [[president of the Swiss Confederation]]<ref>{{cite web | url = https://freimaurerei.ch/en/famous-personalities/ | title = Famous personalities | language = en, fr, de, it | website = [[Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland]] | archive-url = https://archive.today/20171106134634/https://freimaurerei.ch/en/famous-personalities/ | archive-date = November 6, 2017 | url-status = live | access-date = March 17, 2019 }}</ref> from 1848 to 1849, and again in 1852, 1855 and 1858. He was one of the leading figures in the foundation of [[Switzerland as a federal state]].<ref name=HDS/> He was a member of the [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Radical Party]].

==Biography==
Furrer was born in [[Winterthur]], in the [[canton of Zürich]], on 3 March 1805, the son of Anna Magdalena Hanhart and Jonas Furrer, a [[locksmith]]. He received his early education in his hometown, and in 1824 went to study law at the [[University of Zürich]]. He soon continued his studies in [[University of Heidelberg|Heidelberg]], and between 1825 and 1826 studied at the [[University of Göttingen]]. After finishing his education, Furrer returned to Winterthur and established himself as a [[jurist]].<ref name=HDS>{{HDS|003637}}</ref>

Furrer was [[admitted to the bar]] in 1832, and that year he married Friederike Sulzer, daughter of [[Johann Heinrich Sulzer]]. In 1834, aged 29, he was elected to the [[Cantonal Council of Zürich]]. He served until 1839, and was again elected in 1842. At the Cantonal Council, he was the leader of the Liberal opposition to the Conservative government of [[Johann Kaspar Bluntschli]]. In 1845 he became president of the [[Conseil d'État (Switzerland)|Council of State]] of Zürich.<ref name=HDS/>

In 1847, Furrer was appointed member of the commission tasked with reaching a peaceful settlement for the [[Sonderbund War]]. After the Federal victory and the end of the civil war, in 1848 he was [[1848 Swiss federal election|elected]] by the canton of Zurich to the [[Council of States (Switzerland)|Council of States]]. For his significant contribution to the drafting of the 1848 constitution, which established [[Switzerland as a federal state]], Furrer was elected [[President of the Swiss Confederation]] by the legislature, becoming the head of the newly created [[executive power]] of Switzerland, the seven-member [[Swiss Federal Council|Federal Council]].<ref name=HDS/>

[[File:Bundesrat 1848.jpg|thumb|The first Federal Council, 1848 (president Jonas Furrer in the middle)]]

Furrer served as Federal Councilor from 1848 until his death in 1861. During his time in office, he headed a number of [[Ministry (government department)|government departments]], most notably the [[Federal Department of Justice and Police]] due to the reforms he implemented, and also distinguished himself as head of the [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]] for his diplomatic skill. He resolved the question regarding [[stateless person]]s, enacted a law in 1850 protecting [[Interfaith marriage|religiously mixed couples]], and founded government agencies responsible for settling conflicts of jurisdiction between the Confederation and the cantons.<ref name=HDS/>

==Ministries==

During his time as a member of the Federal Council, he presided over the following departments:
*[[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]] (1848–1849)
*[[Department of Justice and Police]] (1850–1851)
*[[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]] (1852)
*[[Department of Justice and Police]] (1853–1854)
*[[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]] (1855)
*[[Department of Justice and Police]] (1856–1857)
*[[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]] (1858)
*[[Department of Justice and Police]] (1859–1861)

==Personal life==
 
Furrer was a member of the [[masonic Lodge]] ''Akazia'' at [[Winterthur]], and was elected Grand Orator of the [[Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland]] in 1844. He died in office on 25 July 1861. He wrote ''Das Erbrecht der Stadt Winterthur'' (“Inheritance law in the city of Winterthur”, 1832).<ref name=ea>{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Furrer, Jonas}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Jonas Furrer}}
*{{Swiss Federal Councillor|jonas-furrer}}

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{{succession box | before = none (The first) | title = [[President of the Swiss Council of States|President of the Council of States]] | years = 1848 | after = [[François Briatte]]}}
{{succession box | before = n/a one of the first seven | title = [[Member of the Swiss Federal Council]] | years = 1848–1861 | after = [[Jakob Dubs]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Presidents of the Swiss Confederation}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furrer, Jonas}}
[[Category:1805 births]]
[[Category:1861 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Winterthur]]
[[Category:University of Zurich alumni]]
[[Category:Heidelberg University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Göttingen alumni]]
[[Category:Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians]]
[[Category:Swiss Freemasons]]
[[Category:Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors of Zurich]]
[[Category:Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Justice ministers of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Swiss Confederation]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of States (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1851–1854]]
[[Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1854–1857]]
[[Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1857–1860]]