Guillaume Henri Dufour 1787–1875

Multifaceted general

Who was Guillaume Henri Dufour? This stamp, issued to mark the 150th anniversary of the famous general’s death, captures four aspects of his personality.

With the varied and eclectic nature of his work, Guillaume Henri Dufour was one of the most influential people in the Switzerland during his time. On his death in 1875 at the age of 88 after a serious illness, then Federal Councillor Paul Ceresole paid tribute to
him at the funeral with the following words: “If I may, gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to outline the rather unique nature of General Dufour’s political and military role: his patriotism, his classical simplicity and unselfishness; his love of duty in matters both great and small; his perfect integrity, his impecca- ble loyalty, and indeed also that heartfelt kindness which was manifest above all in his relations with the humble and the small.”