Georg Stucky headed the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) from 1998 to 2007. In August, he died at the age of 89. His legacy includes paving the way towards voting rights for the Swiss Abroad. The OSA owes Georg Stucky a debt of gratitude, as we look back fondly on his legacy.
What a rich and fulfilling life he led! Georg Stucky worked and lived for many years in Hamburg, the Middle East and North Africa. He was the Swiss honorary consul to Libya and had first-hand knowledge about the hopes and concerns of the Swiss Abroad. Stucky was a church councillor, a cantonal government member, a National Councillor and a director at various companies. He was a member of the OSA Executive Board for 15 years, acting as vice-president from 1992 to 1998 and then president until 2007. All this is a testament to how highly people regarded Georg Stucky – and how great and lasting his legacy is.
I first encountered Georg Stucky at a meeting between the cantonal governments of Zug and Basel-Stadt. Our paths crossed again in the National Council. We became friends during the years that we spent together in the National Council Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee and, later on, in the OSA Executive Board.
Georg Stucky began championing the cause of the Swiss Abroad even before he joined the OSA. In 1986, he submitted a motion calling for an amendment to the Federal Act on the Political Rights of Swiss Citizens Abroad that would give Swiss Abroad the right to vote on all federal matters. In doing so, he played a key role in the introduction of postal voting for the Swiss Abroad at federal level. It was in 1995 that the Swiss Abroad were able to use postal voting in the federal elections for the first time.
Georg Stucky continued to promote change during his time as OSA president, e.g. introduction of e-voting; increase in the number of Swiss Abroad eligible to vote; voluntary old-age and survivors’ insurance (OASI) and disability insurance (DI).
“Georg lived and breathed the OSA,” his wife told me. That much was obvious. All of us within the OSA have fond memories of him and owe him a debt of thanks. We extend our most sincere sympathies to his wife Elisabeth and family.
May he rest in peace.
Remo Gysin, President of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad
Picture: Georg Stucky in 1989 – during his time as National Councillor Photo: Walter Rutishauser, collection of the Library Am Guisanplatz
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