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Ersilia
Fossati became involved in politics in 1962, when she joined the Ticino Association for Women's Suffrage. At this point, women in Switzerland did not have the vote, despite demands being made since the later nineteenth century. In February 1959, a referendum of all male voters had voted 66.9%
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plans. The Swiss army was mobilised in
September 1939, and women’s organisations stepped up in support and the FHD was founded. The Frauenhilfsdienst was officially recognised in April 1940, and its female volunteers worked for the army in communications, logistics, and as medical orderlies. Until
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club. She was president from 1964 to 1966, and again from 1970 to 1971. From 1987 to 1990, she was a member and then cantonal president of the
Catholic association Pro Filia, supporting young people in educational and people of all ages in need of help.
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for which she was later awarded an honour for her service during the war. She continued her membership of the FHD until 1978, from 1951 to 1964, whilst president of the Ticino section of the FHD, she ran refresher courses in both German and
Italian.
269:, Dina Paltenghi-Gardosi, Dionigia Duchini, Rosita Genardini, Rosita Mattei and Ilda Rossi. Fossati served until 1983, and acted as a mentor to the next generation of Catholic women in Ticino politics, including
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featuring 52 women from across
Switzerland to celebrate the 50th anniversary of women's right to vote in Switzerland. The outdoor format was designed to be safely accessible during the Covid pandemic.
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in 1971, when
Switzerland eventually granted women the vote. The other ten women elected were Marili Terribilini-Fluck, Elsa Franconi-Poretti, Linda Brenni, Elda Marazzi,
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Fossati had a varied work career before becoming an elected politician. Between 1942 and 1971, she worked on cataloguing dialect terms as part of the team run by
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During the 1970s, she also chaired the Lugano PDC women's group and became the first treasurer of the cantonal PDC women's association, founded in 1985.
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In 1940, Fossati volunteered for the
Frauenhilfsdienst (FHD), the Swiss Women's Army Auxiliary Service, in response to a national call from General
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She is also a member of the foundation board of the Pro
Senectute (de) section, which includes the canton of Ticino and the district of Moesa.
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84:. When Switzerland eventually granted women the federal vote on 7 February 1971, Fossati was one of the first eleven women elected to the
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Swiss politician, campaigner for women's suffrage, one of first eleven women elected to the Grand
Council of Ticino in 1971.
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the end of the Second World War, Fossati carried out administrative and assistance tasks as part of the FHD, first in
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named a road in the Meride area in
Fossati's honour. In 2021, Fossati was featured in a street based exhibition in
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and spent her summer holidays at her paternal family's house. In 1939, the imminence of the
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Ersilia Fossati attended primary and secondary school at the Ghislanzoni Institute in
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From 1941 to 1942, Fossati taught Italian at the Institute of the Sisters of
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From 1941 to 1942, Fossati taught Italian at the Institute of the Sisters of
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She continued her studies at the teacher training college, the Magistrale di
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During her childhood, she was in regular contact with her Swiss relatives in
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led to her family moving back from Italy to live in Meride in Switzerland.
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601:"Ecco la (prima) targa che svela le tracce indelebili delle donne"
587:"Svizzera: quelle cinque «prime donne» uscite dal mondo cattolico"
497:"Ersilia Fossati - Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. (French)"
437:"Ersilia Fossati - Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (German)"
334:"1941-1981 quarantesimo di fondazione del Servizio Complementare"
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562:"Sorengo dĂ la cittadinanza onoraria a Marili Terribilini-Fluck"
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Knowledge requested images of politicians and government-people
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627:"Berne: plus de 50 portraits de femmes accrochés sur des murs"
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261:(PDC). She was one of the first eleven women elected to the
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512:"Swiss women didn't only cook during the second world war"
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Association des Archives Unies des Femmes Tessin (AARDT),
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to 33% against granting female suffrage in all but three
396:"Women's suffrage in Switzerland: 100 years of struggle"
537:"Club femminili. I circoli virtuosi della sorellanza"
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From 1971 to 1975, Fossati worked as a secretary at
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202:Vocabolario dei dialetti della Svizzera italiana
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359:Susanna Castelletti; Lisa Fornara (2007).
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242:In 1964, Fossati founded the
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607:(in Italian). 2021-03-08
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314:In 2021, the commune de
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92:Early life and education
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303:Death and commemoration
263:Grand Council of Ticino
209:adult education college
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80:and a campaigner for
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285:member of parliament
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311:on 9 October 1999.
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521:2024-04-28
405:2024-03-23
380:References
281:legislator
70:politician
32:1921-03-25
566:laRegione
316:Mendrisio
186:Ingenbohl
158:Ingenbohl
139:Ursulines
115:, in the
110:came from
88:in 1971.
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178:Cugnasco
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