- Pierre Graber
Pierre Graber (
December 6 ,1908 –July 19 ,2003 ) was a Swiss politician andmember of the Swiss Federal Council (1970-1978).He was born in
La Chaux-de-Fonds ,Switzerland and after studying law inNeuchâtel andVienna he became attorney-at-law inLausanne . Active in the Social Democratic Party, he was in the municipal parliament ofLausanne (1934-1946), member of the parliament of the canton ofVaud (1937-1946),mayor of Lausanne (1946-1949), member of the National Council (1942-1969, except 1963), he was the Speaker of that Assembly from 1965/66, he sat in the Foreign affairs committee and was deputy chairman of the enquiry parliamentary committee dealing with the "Mirage" affair. He was also a member of the government of the canton ofVaud (1962-1970) in charge of the Finance Department. He served as one of the four members of the Commission to resolve the problem of the Jura.He was elected to the
Swiss Federal Council onDecember 10 ,1969 . During his time in office, he headed the Political Department, i.e. ministry of foreign affairs. Graber was President of the Confederation in 1975 and handed over office onJanuary 31 ,1978 . During his term of office, a new law for Cooperation Development was adopted. OnAugust 1 ,1975 , he signed the Helsinki Final Act of the CSCE on behalf of Switzerland. He obtained the ratification by Parliament of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights in 1974. As president of theCommittee of Ministers of theCouncil of Europe , he laid the first stone of thePalace of Europe inStrasbourg onMay 15 ,1972 . At his initiative, Switzerland recognizedNorth Vietnam andNorth Korea . Graber presided over the diplomatic conference that led to the adoption of the additional protocols to theGeneva Conventions in 1977. He faced the first terrorist attack on aSwissair plane inZarqa ,Jordan in 1970. After retiring, he gave his opinion on major occasions including Switzerland's unsuccessful attempt to join theUnited Nations in 1986.Graber died in Lausanne in 2003.
Bibliography
*Pierre Graber: "Mémoires et réflexions"; Lausanne: Editions 24 heures, 1992; ISBN 2-8265-1096-7 — autobiography.
External links
*HDS|4726
*Swiss Federal Councillor|85
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