Ruth Grossenbacher
Ruth Grossenbacher-Schmid (born 13 September 1936 in
Obererlinsbach, canton of Solothurn) is a Swiss politician of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP). She was a member of the National Council
for the canton of Solothurn from 1991 to 1999.
Life
Ruth Schmid was born in 1936 as the youngest of three daughters of a Swiss family in
Bally. The family came back to Switzerland in 1946 and Schmid's father worked at the headquarters of Bally in Schönenwerd in the canton of Solothurn. After her schooling and her marriage, Ruth Grossenbacher worked for twenty years as an English teacher in a vocational school.[1][2]
Ruth Grossenbacher-Schmid is married and mother of two daughters. Her eldest daughter was born with a severe
heart defect and died during an operation at the age of 6.[2]
Political career
In 1973, two years after the introduction of women's suffrage in the canton of Solothurn, Grossenbacher was elected to the communal council of
Niedererlinsbach. Later she was a member of the Constitutional Council of Solothurn. From 1986 to 1991, she was the second chairwoman of the Christian Democratic People's Party's Swiss women section. Upon her proposal, the CVP became the first people's party to introduce a 1/3 minimum women's quota in its boards by the end of 1991.[3] In the same year, Grossenbacher became a deputy in the National Council, where she made one's mark in the realms of education, social and culture policy. In 1994, she served as a United Nations election observer in South Africa.[2] Moreover, she was the chairwoman of the organisation Pro Familia Schweiz which promotes family friendliness in workplaces.[4] Grossenbacher's concern for the issues of women, minorities and underprivileged people was an essential part of her long social and political commitment.[1]
After she left she National Council in 1999, Grossenbacher took on numerous other functions, including the chairwomanship of the Solothurn Film Festival Society and of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.[5]
In 2019, Ruth Grossenbacher was awarded the Recognition Prize of the canton of Solothurn.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Alt-Nationalrätin Ruth Grossenbacher: "Die Schwarzen waren – halt einfach da"". Solothurner Zeitung (in German). 16 December 2013.
- ^ a b c Zeindler, Nathalie (13 November 2016). "Ruth Grossenbacher – Die Kosmopolitin". Menschen und Horizonte (in German). SRF.
- ^ "Geschichte der CVP Frauen" (in German). Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland.
- ^ "Geschichte" (in German). Pro Familia Schweiz.
- swissinfo(in German). 28 February 2002. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
External links
- Biography of Ruth Grossenbacher on the website of the Swiss Parliament.
- Ruth Grossenbacher-Schmid in the Base de données des élites suisses au XXe s. (in French)
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