Jean Vincent


Vincent, Jean

 

Born July 8, 1906, in Geneva. Figure in the Swiss working-class movement.

An attorney by profession, Vincent graduated from the University of Geneva in 1927 with a degree in law. He joined the Communist Youth League of Switzerland in 1923 and the Communist Party of Switzerland in 1924. After the CPS was banned in Geneva Canton in 1937, Vincent, with the approval of the Central Committee of the CPS, joined the Swiss Socialist Federation, an organization of left-wing socialists. In 1944 he helped found the Swiss Labor Party and became a member of the party’s Central Committee and Steering Committee (renamed the Politburo in 1971).

From 1945 to 1957, Vincent was editor of the newspaper Voix ouvrière, a central organ of the SLP. He served as secretary of the SLP from 1955 to 1974. He was named chairman of the party in June 1974 and honorary chairman in May 1978.

Vincent was first elected to the National Council (lower house of the Federal Assembly) in 1944.