Ernst Laur

Ernst Laur (1871 to 1964) was a Swiss agronomist and agricultural organiser who directed the Swiss Farmers' Union from 1898 to 1939 and held the chair of rural economics at the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. Born in Basel, he qualified as an agricultural engineer in Zurich in 1893, taught at the agricultural school in Brugg and took a doctorate at Leipzig in 1896. As head of the union he became the recognised leader of Swiss farmers, persuaded them in 1902 to back a moderately protectionist tariff policy and served as the Federal Council's delegate for trade agreements from 1904 to 1945. His rural economics, built on the union secretariat's financial analyses, gained international standing, his textbooks were translated into many languages, and he presided over the European Confederation of Agriculture from 1948 to 1950.