Swiss politician
Giuseppe Motta
(29 December 1871 ? 23 January 1940) was a Swiss politician. He was a member of the
Swiss Federal Council
(1911?1940) and
President of the League of Nations
(1924?1925). He was a Catholic-conservative foreign minister and a staunch
opponent of communism
and
Stalinism
.
Biography
[
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He was born on 29 December 1871. He was elected to the
Federal Council of Switzerland
on 14 December 1911. Motta served 28 years in the Federal Council, the third longest tenure to date. He was affiliated with the
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
.
While in office he headed the
Department of Finance
(1912?1919)
[1]
and the
Political Department
(1920?1940). He was elected
President of the Confederation
five times, in 1915, 1920, 1927, 1932 and 1937.
In 1923 the
ICRC
admitted the first two non-Genevans to its Assembly -
Max Huber
from Zurich and Motta, who was also the first Catholic.
[2]
He clearly did not see any conflict of interest in combining his work with the ICRC with his continuing political career.
Motta was involved with the
Federal Council
Felix Calonder
in Switzerland's accession to the
League of Nations
on 16 May 1920. In 1924 he became
President League of Nations Assembly
. At his suggestion, Switzerland was one of the few states against accepting the
Soviet Union
into the League of Nations.
[3]
He was one of the most outspoken advocates of admission of
Germany
. In the
Interwar Period
, he pleaded for a partial departure from Swiss neutrality principle, but spoke out from 1938 in the face of the looming
Second World War
again for its strict observance.
[4]
He died in office on 23 January 1940, at 68 years old.
Commemoration
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Among others,
via Giuseppe Motta
in
Lugano
,
Chiasso
,
Minusio
and
Massagno
,
Piazza Giuseppe Motta
in
Ascona
and
Avenue Giuseppe-Motta
in
Geneva
are named for him.
His portrait was painted twice in the late 1930s by the Swiss-born American artist
Adolfo Muller-Ury
. The first, a large three-quarter portrait, dated 1938, hangs in the Archivio Cantonale in Bellinzona; the artist was sent a photograph by Motta at the end of 1937, and then the artist travelled to Berne in the summer of 1938 to work on the portrait from life. The second portrait, half-length seated at a desk and dated 1939, in the Haus Muller-Lombardi in
Hospental
, Switzerland as part of the Adolfo Muller-Ury Stiftung. This was exhibited at the artist's last exhibition at French and Co, New York in the spring of 1947 and returned to Switzerland after his death in July that year.
Annually since 2004, the
Geneva Institute for Democracy and Development
presents the
Giuseppe Motta Medal
to people from any country or region of the world for exceptional achievement in the promotion of
peace
and
democracy
,
human rights
and
sustainable development
.
[5]
References
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External links
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