Hans Reinhard

Hans Reinhard (born Feb. 20, 1755, Zürich, Switz.—died Dec. 23, 1835, Zürich) was a statesman and burgomaster of Zürich who headed the federal government six times and led the Swiss delegation at the Congress of Vienna (1814–15).

Before 1802 Reinhard had occupied only local political offices: secretary of state for Zürich (1787–95); bailiff for the town of Baden (1795–98); member (1796–1801) and then president (1800–01) of the new municipal government of Zürich under the Helvetic Republic. Delegated by Zürich to Paris to discuss with Napoleon the problem of Swiss federal reorganization in November 1802, he subsequently signed the Act of Mediation (Feb. 19, 1803), which marked a return to a national confederate model of government after the unitary experiment of the Helvetic Republic.

During the period of French domination, Reinhard was twice Landammann (chief executive) of Switzerland (1807, 1813) and four times president of the Swiss Diet after liberation (1814–1815, 1816, 1822, 1828). Between 1803 and 1830 he was named burgomaster of Zürich each biennium and concurrently served on the cantonal council. With the fall of Napoleon impending, he convoked a national Diet at Zürich (October 1813), which provided the groundwork for the future independent confederation. He headed the official Swiss delegation to the Congress of Vienna, at which he championed the cause of a fully independent Switzerland.