Public Offices and Positions
The number and importance of the positions and public offices held by Alfred Escher remains unparalleled in Swiss history to date, as the following (not exhaustive) list illustrates:
| Duration | Office/position |
|---|---|
| 1839–1840 | President of the Zurich section of the «Zofingia» student society |
| 1840–1841 | Central President of the Swiss Zofingia |
| 1844–1847 | Lecturer at the University of Zurich |
| 1844–1882 | Member of Zurich’s cantonal parliament (President: 1848, 1852, 1857, 1861, 1864, 1868) |
| 1845–1848 | Member of the Federal Council of Cantonal Representatives (Tagsatzungsgesandter) (with interruptions) |
| 1845–1855 | Member of the Board of Education |
| 1846–1849 | Member of the Zurich Legislative Council |
| 1847–1848 | Cantonal Chief Administrator of Zurich |
| 1848–1855 | Government of the Canton of Zurich (Regierungsrat) (chairman: 1849, 1851/52, 1853/54) |
| 1848–1849 | Member of the Zurich Financial Council |
| 1848 | Federal Commissioner in the Canton of Ticino |
| 1848–1882 | National Councillor (President: 1849/50, 1856/57, 1862/63) |
| 1849–1855 | Member of the Zurich Church Council |
| 1849–1852 | Member of the Zurich State Council |
| 1853 | Chairman of the Board of the Zürich-Bodenseebahn (Zurich-Lake Constance Railway Company) |
| 1853–1872 | Chairman of the Board of the Swiss Northeastern Railway |
| 1854–1882 | Vice-Chairman of the Swiss School Council |
| 1856–1877 | Chairman of the Board of Directors of Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (Credit Suisse) |
| 1857–1874 | Supervisory Board of Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs- und Rentenanstalt (Swiss Life) |
| 1859–1874 | Member of the Greater City Council (Parliament) of Zurich |
| 1860–1869 | Chairman of the School Administration Committee, Zurich |
| 1871–1878 | Chairman of the Executive Board of the Gotthardbahn-Gesellschaft (Gotthard Railway Company) |
| 1872–1882 | Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Northeastern Railway |
| 1880–1882 | Chairman of the Board of Directors of Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (Credit Suisse) |
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