FEIGENWINTER, ERNST. – Catholic political figure and sociologist, born in Reinach (Basel) on 13 March 1853, died in Bern on 15 September 1919. He defended the rights and freedom of the Church in the discussions and struggles that gave Switzerland’s constitution its final form. He founded the Catholic Popular Party in Switzerland and was consistently a fervent advocate of equal rights and democratic principles.
As a sociologist, he perceived very early the dangers and threat of a State socialism and, to counter them, devoted himself zealously to implementing the principles of Rerum Novarum. Principal writings: Die Behandlung der ausländischen Arbeiter im Versicherungsrecht (1912), Aus sturmberegten Tagen; ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Tessiner Revolution in September 1890 (1913); Der Kampf um den gerechten Lohn und die Geschichtsteiligung der Arbeiter (1918).