{{Short description|Swiss construction engineer and politician (1825–1896)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} thumb|Bavier in 1890
'''Simeon Bavier''' (16 September 1825 in Chur – 27 January 1896 in Basel) was a Swiss politician who served as member of the Swiss Federal Council (1878–1883).<ref name=hds />
Bavier was trained as an underground construction engineer at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University of Stuttgart from 1841 until 1844, and was instrumental in building some of the alpine roads in Grisons. After 1853, he focused on building railway lines both in Switzerland and abroad. Coming from a family that was involved in the transport business, he was a staunch proponent of the ''Ostalpenbahn'', a transalpine railway connection through Grisons and over the Lukmanier Pass, which would have fundamentally changed the economic situation of Grisons.<ref name=hds>{{HDS|003554|author=Jürg Simonett|date=4 June 2002}}</ref>
From 1863 until 1878, he represented both the liberals of Grisons in the Swiss National Council. When he began to support the federal subsidies for the Gotthard railway, his image improved and he was seen less as a one-sided ''Ostalpenbahn'' supporter.
He was elected to the national government, the Swiss Federal Council, on 10 December 1878 and resigned on 5 January 1883. He was affiliated with the Liberal Centre, which later developed into the Liberal Party of Switzerland. During his time in office he held the following departments: * Department of Finance (1879)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/de/home/das-efd/der-departementsvorsteher/ueli-maurer/fruehere-departmentsvorsteher.html|title=Frühere Departmentsvorsteher/Innen}}</ref> * Department of Posts and Railways (1880–1881) * Political Department (1882) as President of the Confederation
He was President of the Confederation in 1882.
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} *{{Swiss Federal Councillor|simeon-bavier}} *{{HDS|3554|Simeon Bavier|author=Jürg Simonett|rm=300}}
{{start box}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | before = Joachim Heer | title = Member of the Swiss Federal Council | years = 1878–1883 | after = Adolf Deucher}} {{end box}} {{Swiss Presidents}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bavier, Simeon}} Category:1825 births Category:1896 deaths Category:People from Chur Category:Swiss Calvinist and Reformed Christians Category:Liberal Party of Switzerland politicians Category:Presidents of the Swiss Confederation Category:Foreign ministers of Switzerland Category:Finance ministers of Switzerland Category:Ministers of environment, transport, energy and communications of Switzerland Category:Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1863–1866 Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1866–1869 Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1869–1872 Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1872–1875 Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1875–1878 Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) for Grisons Category:Members of the Grand Council of the Grisons
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