Melchior Josef Martin Knüsel (November 16, 1813 - January 15, 1889) was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 politician from Lucerne

Lucerne

Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...

, member of the Swiss Federal Council

Swiss Federal Council

The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....

 (1855-1875).

He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on July 14, 1855, representing the Canton of Lucerne

Canton of Lucerne

Lucerne is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton is . , the population included 57,268 foreigners, or about 15.8% of the total population. The cantonal capital is Lucerne.-History:...

, and handed over office on December 31, 1875. He was affiliated with the Radicals

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

. While in office he held the following departments:

• Department of Finance (1855 - 1856)
• Department of Trade and Customs (1857)
• Department of Justice and Police (1858)
• Department of Trade and Customs (1859 - 1860)
• Political Department (1861) as President of the Confederation
• Department of Finance (1862 - 1863)
• Department of Justice and Police (1864 - 1865)
• Political Department (1866) as President of the Confederation
• Department of Justice and Police (1867 - 1873)
• Department of Home Affairs (1874 - 1875)

He was President of the Confederation twice, in 1861 and 1866.

External links