{{short description|Swiss politician (1825–1888)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} right|thumb|Wilhelm Friedrich Hertenstein, member of the Swiss Federal Council '''Wilhelm Friederich Hertenstein''' (5 May 1825, in Kyburg – 27 November 1888) was a Swiss politician.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Council |first=The Federal |title=Wilhelm Hertenstein |url=https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/bundesrat/mitglieder-des-bundesrates/wilhelm-hertenstein.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=www.admin.ch |language=en}}</ref>
Hertenstein was trained to manage forestries, and in 1847 he received the diploma of the Saxonian forest schools. From 1855 until 1872, he led the Canton of Zurich's forestry department which was located in Fehraltorf. During most these years, he was a politician in the state's legislative body. In the Swiss military, he served as an artillery officer, with a deployment during the Sonderbund war of 1847, and in 1872, he was made a colonel and also elected to the government of the Canton of Zurich. After a short stint in the Swiss Council of States beginning in 1878, Hertenstein was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 21 March 1879 and died in office on 27 November 1888 following an emergency amputation of his leg. He was affiliated to the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. During his office time he held the Military Department and was President of the Confederation in 1888. His funeral was a show of Swiss national unity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/003645/2006-08-30/ |title=Hertenstein, Wilhelm Friedrich |date=2006-08-30 |access-date=2023-10-20 |last=Sigg |first=Otto |publisher=Historical Dictionary of Switzerland}}</ref>
Hertenstein died while in office as President of the Confederation and is so far the only holder of this office who did not finish his term.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Presidency of the Helvetic Confederation from 1848 to the present day |url=https://swissfederalism.ch/en/the-presidency-of-the-helvetic-confederation-from-1848-to-the-present-day/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Swiss Federalism |language=en-US}}</ref>
==External links== *{{Swiss Federal Councillor|wilhelm-hertenstein}} *{{HDS|3645|Wilhelm Friedrich Hertenstein|author=Otto Sigg|date=28 March 2002}}
== References == {{Reflist}}{{s-start}} {{succession box | before = Johann Jakob Scherer | title = Member of the Swiss Federal Council | years = 1879–1888 | after = Walter Hauser}} {{s-end}}
{{Swiss Presidents}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertenstein, Wilhelm}} Category:1825 births Category:1888 deaths Category:People from Pfäffikon 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:Defence ministers of Switzerland Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Category:Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Category:Swiss military officers Category:19th-century Swiss military personnel
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