District of Bienne

The district of Bienne is located in the Zeeland, it is one of the 26 districts of the canton of Bern in Suisse. Its chief town is the town of Biel-Bienne. The district had a population of 51.055 inhabitants at December 31st, 2005. By its surface, it is the smallest district of the canton of Bern. With the entry in force of the reform of the decentralized administration (planned for 2009), the district of Bienne will absorb part of the district of Nidau and that of Büren.

It is about a bilingual district including/understanding approximately 40% of French-speaking people and 60% the German-speaking ones. All 26 Bernese district is consisted 3 entirely French-speaking districts (the Bernese Jura), 1 bilingual district ( District of Biel/Bienne ) and 22 German-speaking districts. A particular status for the French-speaking minority of the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne as for the 3 French-speaking districts of the the Bernese Jura is in place.

The current prefect (2007) is a French-speaking person, Mr. Philippe Garbani (1946/PS), elected in August 1999, re-elected in 2003 and 2007.

The French-speaking minority of the bilingual district of Bienne has a nonparliamentary political body, the Conseil of the French-speaking businesses of the bilingual district of Bienne

The surface of the district of Bienne is of 25 km ² and counts only two communes, bilingual both. The reform of the decentralized cantonal administration, accepted by cantonal voting in September 2006, will make pass this number to twenty:

List of the prefects of the District of Bienne

Matti Christian 1832 - 1835 Schwab David 1835 - 1845 Schöni Alexander 1846 - 1850 Schwab David 1850 - 1851 Schneider Johann 1851 - 1854

Grüring Friedrich 1854 - 1860 Mürset Louis 1860 - 1861 Bowl Heinrich 1861 - 1866

Kuhn Charles 1866 - 1871 Bovet Friedrich 1871 - 1873

Gräub Charles 1873 - 1882 Wyss Jakob 1882 -? ? - 1920 Stucki Albert 1920 - 1924 Bertschinger Artur 1925 - 1944 Brändli Emil 1945 - 1960 Hirschi Marcel 1961 - 1985 Monnin Yves 1986 - 1999 Garbani Philippe 2000 -

External bonds

    Bernese
  • Site of the Association of the préfètes and prefects
  • Official site of the prefectures of the canton of Bern
  • State of the population of Switzerland at December 31st, 2005

Random links:Andy Roddick | Saint Chalice | Alain Seguin | Jacques Of Lorens | Alfajor | Dunbarton,_New_Hampshire