Editing Marcel Pilet-Golaz

{{Short description|Swiss politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Marcel Pilet-Golaz
| image               = Marcel Pilet-Golaz Staatsarchiv Bern FN Jost P 362.jpg
| office              = [[Swiss Federal Council|Member of the Swiss Federal Council]]
| term_start          = 13 December 1928
| term_end            = 31 December 1944
| predecessor         = [[Ernest Chuard]]
| successor           = [[Max Petitpierre]]
| office2             = [[President of the Swiss Confederation|President of Switzerland]]
| term_start2         = 1 January 1934
| term_end2           = 31 December 1934
| predecessor2        = [[Edmund Schulthess]]
| successor2          = [[Rudolf Minger]]
| term_start3         = 1 January 1940
| term_end3           = 31 December 1940
| predecessor3        = [[Philipp Etter]]
| successor3          = [[Ernst Wetter]]
| birth_date          = 31 December 1889
| birth_place         = [[Cossonay]], [[Vaud]], [[Switzerland]]
| death_date          = 11 April 1958 (aged 68)
| death_place         = [[Paris]], [[France]]
| party               = [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Free Democratic Party]]
| caption             = Pilet-Golaz in 1929
}}

'''Marcel Pilet-Golaz''' (31 December 1889 &ndash; 11 April 1958) was a Swiss politician. He was elected to the [[Swiss Federal Council]] on 13 December 1928 and handed over office on 31 December 1944. He was affiliated to the [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Free Democratic Party]].

During his time in office he held the following departments:
* [[Department of Home Affairs (Switzerland)|Department of Home Affairs]] (1929)
* [[Department of Posts and Railways]] (1930–1939)
* [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]]<ref name = FDFA>In current language the [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs]].</ref> (1940)
* [[Department of Posts and Railways]] (1940)
* [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs|Political Department]]<ref name = FDFA/> (1941–1944)
He was [[President of the Confederation (Switzerland)|President of the Confederation]] twice in 1934 and 1940.

Pilet-Golaz was said to be a pragmatic politician who tried to negotiate with German [[nazism]] and Italian [[fascism]]. He, therefore, had to face the reproach that he sympathized with fascism.

As the head of the foreign affairs, he had to find a balance between the German requirements, the objections of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] and the will of Switzerland to stay independent. His choice to build a relatively good rapport with [[Nazi Germany]] was very disputed, during as well as after the war. On 25 June 1940, Pilet-Golaz gave a speech containing numerous references to the coming of an authoritarian regime in Switzerland and to a "new order" in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dodis.ch/47075|title=Discours radiophonique du Président de la Confédération, M. Pilet-Golaz|date=25 June 1940}}</ref> In September, he met with three representatives of the [[National Movement of Switzerland]] (''Nationale Bewegung der Schweiz/Mouvement national suisse''), the Swiss pro-Nazi party (the MNS was disbanded by the Federal government two months later).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cercle-democratique.org/target/body/figures/pilet-golaz_marcel.html |title = Page non trouvée « Cercle Démocratique Lausanne |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414120152/http://www.cercle-democratique.org/target/body/figures/pilet-golaz_marcel.html |archive-date=14 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1944, when Pilet-Golaz tried to take up relations with the Soviet Union, the latter refused roughly. So he lost all support and had to resign.

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
* Werner Rings, ''Die Schweiz im Krieg''.

==External links==
* {{Dodis|P804}}
* {{Swiss Federal Councillor|marcel-pilet-golaz}}
* {{HDS|4641}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/013632}}

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{{succession box | before = [[Ernest Chuard]] | title = [[Member of the Swiss Federal Council]] | years = 1928&ndash;1944 | after = [[Max Petitpierre]]}}
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{{Swiss Presidents}}

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{{Portal bar|Politics|Switzerland|History}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilet-Golaz, Marcel}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Morges District]]
[[Category:Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians]]
[[Category:Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Swiss Confederation]]
[[Category:Interior ministers of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Ministers of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:World War II political leaders]]
[[Category:University of Lausanne alumni]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Switzerland]]


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