Camille Decoppet

Decoppet grew up as the son of Henri-François, an innkeeper, and Philippine Alary. He was the brother of Maurice Decoppet, a later forestry expert who managed the Swiss supply of firewood, construction wood and peat during the First World War, and the cousin of Lucien Decoppet, a lawyer, banker and politician.^[1]

In 1888, Camille Decoppet passed the bar exam, and practiced law for two years. From 1890 till 1896, he acted as a state prosecutor, followed by a tenure as a substitute judge at the Federal Supreme Court until 1912.^[1]

Decoppet held the following political offices:

• 1898 - 1901: member of the legislative council of Lausanne
• 1897 - 1900: member of the legislative council of Vaud
• 1899 - 1912: member of the National Council
• 1900 - 1912: member of the executive council of Vaud, responsible for education and culture.^[1]

On 17 July 1912, he was elected to the Federal Council with a stellar result, and resigned from the office on 31 December 1919. He was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party.

During his office time he held the following departments:

• Department of Home Affairs (1912)
• Department of Justice and Police (1913)
• Military Department (1914–1919)

He was President of the Confederation in 1916.

• Profile of Camille Decoppet with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council.
• Camille Decoppet in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.