Jean de Senarclens

Jean de Senarclens , born on June 18th, 1916 with Lavey-the-Baths and dead on November 29th, 2005 with Geneva, is a Juriste Suisse author of several historical works.

Biography

Jean de Senarclens, wire of the doctor Victor de Senarclens and Marthe born Lombard is the junior by four brothers, Aymon de Senarclens, agronomist, who made of the policy and became adviser of State to Geneva, Gerard, chemist and head of undertaking, Francois, doctor of gynaecological medicine, and Jacques, Pasteur and professor with the Faculty of theology of Geneva.

Doctor in right, it marries Isabelle Naville, girl of the professor of legal medicine François Naville, famous for his investigation into the Massacre of Katyń in 1943. Jean de Senarclens settles in family in Paris in 1945, like in charge of the information of the Swiss Room of trade in Paris, then, since 1949, as director of this institution. Four children, whose singer Sarclo, were born from this marriage. From return in Switzerland in 1957, it spends seven years to Yverdon in Paillard (typewriters Hermes), as chief of publicity and the sales, then as assistant editor for the branch Cinéma (cameras Bolex).

In 1964, of return to Geneva, it enters to the General society for Industry, as head of the division of the new tasks, where it gets busy to create a new ski station, “Valrutor”, with Thuile in the Vallée of Aoste. The Genevese investors do not follow it and the station will end up thriving thanks to Italian capital.

Jean de Senarclens carries out then a mission for the International committee of the Red Cross in Egypt, the shortly after the Guerre of Kippour of 1973, before being committed as legal adviser with the Company of fiduciary services (CSF), which will be worth serious difficultieies to him. This company indeed appeared - without its knowledge - in the complex flow chart of the business known as “Irangate” which bursts in 1986. Badgered by the American newspapers, and finally cleared, it will leave the CSF for the Genevese subsidiary company of a foreign group which manages in particular the Intercontinental Hotel, posts that it will occupy until its death on November 29th, 2005.

Literary activities and historical

Its thirty last years were occupied by literary activities: chair Company of reading of Geneva in 1977-1978, president of the Genevese Company of public utility of 1977 to 1991, it took part in a decisive way in the development and the publication of the Encyclopédie of Geneva (11 volumes and 1 CD-ROMs, published of 1982 to 1996) and collaborated by many articles in the historical Dictionnaire of Switzerland. It especially published several works history, the majority with the editions Slatkine and for some in collaboration with the archivist of State of Geneva, Catherine Santschi.

The first relate to Geneva, from which he knows the least recesses. To the disappearance of the Newspaper of Geneva, in 1998, it directs a collective work which shows at which point this daily newspaper was a witness and a European actor of first importance during its 172 years of existence, in particular during the two world wars.

To return justice in Gustave Moynier

Jean de Senarclens then endeavors by a biography to return justice to the memory of that which he regards as the true founder of the International committee of the Red Cross, Gustave Moynier. It scratches with passage figure of Henri Dunant, which will be worth to him troubles because of the powerful Dunant lobby and the ICRC itself, which uses the image of old Dunant and débonnaire at ends of marketing, forgetting that he was also an adventurer whose bankruptcy in 1867 put in danger the International committee, already chaired by Moynier.

History of Senarclens and Naville

In 2000, it publishes the fruit of a long research over the 800 years the history of its family. Senarclens, knight-peasants of Vaud submitted to the Lord of Cossonay in XIIe century, produced thereafter characters out of the commun run which one finds at the court of the Tsar of Russia or the head of regiments of king de France and who, in their castle of Vufflens, will receive Voltaire. Then Jean de Senarclens endeavors to write a comparable fresco on Naville, the family of his wife died in 1998, but he dies itself without finishing the manuscript, which will be supplemented and published by an small group of researchers and historians. Stone masons when they acquire the middle-class of Geneva in 1506, Naville become clothiers, clock and watch makers, magistrates or industrialists: it is Naville which founds in Zurich in 1888 what will become Alusuisse. But it is finally by academic work that this family will reach the greatest recognition, with philosophers, theologists, pedagogs and a large Egyptologist, Henri Edouard Naville.

Selective bibliography

Sources

Homage to Jean de Senarclens, published by the Genevese Company of public utility, summer 2007
the vocation of Jean de Senarclens for the public utility has an origin…, Christian Hubert, Tribune de Genève, December 6th, 2005
the dynasty Naville, 500 years of Genevese history, Xavier Pellegrini, Time, September 23rd, 2006
E the nave goes: Naville, Antoine Maurice, Tribune de Genève, September 22nd, 2006

External bond

Genevese Company of public utility

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