Emil Lohner (15 April 1865 – 24 February 1959) was a Swiss politician (FDP / PRD) initially on a cantonal level and later nationally.
[1][2] Karl Emil Lohner was born in Thun, a small town with a well-diversified economy in central Switzerland.
[3][4] In 1883 Lohner successfully completed his schooling at Burgdorf and moved on to the University of Bern in order to obtain a degree in Jurisprudence in preparation for work as a lawyer.
[1] Following qualification he worked briefly as a junior lawyer in Thun at the legal firm of Johannes Ritschard, his father-in-law, during 1889/1890.
However, there was evidently no appetite among fellow council members for a more extensive shake-up, and other departmental responsibilities remained unaffected by the change.
In December 1919 Emil Lohner was a candidate for a vacancy that had arisen, following the death of Eduard Müller, in the “Bundesrat” (‘’federal council’’), the seven man executive committee heading up the Swiss government in respect of business that cannot be dealt with at a cantonal level.
The company owned and operated a strategically vital transport link between Switzerland’s commercial and industrial heartland and Northern Italy.
[12] Between 1914 and 1918 the Swiss government, pursuing a strategy of armed neutrality, managed to avoid military engagement in the First World War, despite being surrounded by belligerent powers and a constant concern that the fighting might spill over the frontier.
Separatist tensions grew, and were reflected in internal divisions within the FDP (party) of which, by 1919, Lohner had become a leading member.
[1][13] In the aftermath of the war Lohner distinguished himself in the field of foreign affairs as member of the Swiss League of Nations commission.