- Emil Sonderegger
Emil Sonderegger (born
November 28 ,1868 inHerisau - diedJuly 15 ,1934 ) was a Swiss military officer who later became involved in the country'sfar right political scene.The son of leading
embroidery businessman, Sonderegger initially worked for the export branch of his father's country, travelling extensively and developing strong language skills as a result. Eventually however Sonderegger left the family business to follow a career in theSwiss Army , rising to artillery lieutenant by 1888. His military career blossomed and he was commanding a brigade by 1916 and the 4th Division by 1918. Leading his division to suppress thegeneral strike inZurich in November of that year, he gained strong approval from conservatives who dubbed him the saviour of the Fatherland. Promoted to the Swiss General Staff in 1920 he left the army in 1923 in protest over plans to restructure the country's military.He went on to work for Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft Neuhausen and an arms manufacturer, as well as conducting a lecture tour of
China . Turning his business and military mind to politics, he became a strong opponent ofparliamentary democracy , likening it to the chaos of astock exchange when a better system would be thecorporation model of an amalgamated executive andlegislature kept in check byplebiscite . He also supported enterprise ineconomics , rather thanstate intervention .He became a keen reader of the "Schweizerische Monatshefte" and its editor
Hans Oehler gained something of a coup in 1933 when he convinced the national hero to join the National Front. Using his military skills, he played a leading role in transforming the front from a discussion group into a force in strret politics, although he became disillusioned with the inertia of the Front and in 1933 left the group withErnst Leonhardt to form the "Volksbund". By February of the following year Sonderegger and Leonhardt had split, with Sonderegger forming his own Volksfront. He died later that same year, with his group absorbed by the "Eidgenössische Front".References
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Philip Rees , "Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 "
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