LEU von Ebersol, Joseph. - Swiss politician, born at Ebersol on 1 June 1800, died there on 20 July 1845. A convinced Catholic, he disapproved of the rise of the new liberal ideas that prevailed in the canton of Lucerne after 1830, fearing serious consequences for Catholics. Indeed, not only did the liberal cantons conclude in 1832 the so-called Concordat of the Seven to preserve the status quo and, if necessary, even by force, prevent a return to the previous form of government, but in 1834 they issued the Articles of Baden, aimed at asserting the supremacy of the State over the Church and the establishment of a national Church.
The Articles of Baden did not meet with the approval of the inhabitants of the canton of Lucerne. Leu became the spokesman for this discontent. Elected a member of the cantonal Grand Council in 1831 and again in 1835, he immediately launched a vigorous campaign against the Concordat of the Seven and the Articles of Baden. He also demanded a constitutional reform on an absolutely democratic basis: direct elections for the Grand Council and legislative veto power for the electorate. The Grand Council rejected these changes. Through a direct appeal to the people on 1 May 1841, the new constitution proclaimed by Leu was approved. Consequently, Lucerne denounced the Articles of Baden, and the nunciature, which had moved to Schwyz in 1835, returned to its ancient seat. Religious teaching was again permitted to the clergy, and the Jesuits were readmitted to the canton.
The action taken by Leu did not succeed in quelling the disputes between Catholic and Protestant cantons, between conservatives and radicals, and led in 1847 to civil war. Leu did not live to see the consequences, for he had been dead for two years, assassinated by a peasant who sought to curry favour with the liberals.