Swiss lawyer, educational administrator, and politician who jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize with Élie Ducommun in 1902 for their leadership of the Permanent International Peace Bureau.
Background
Gobat was born on May 21, 1843 at Tramelan, Switzerland. He was the son of a Protestant pastor and the nephew of Samuel Gobat, a missionary who became bishop of Jerusalem. He was educated at the University of Basel, University of Heidelberg, University of Bern, and University of Paris. He received his doctorate in law, summa cum laude, from the University of Heidelberg in 1867.
Career
In the latter year he became a radical member of the Great Council of Bern. Two years later he became a member of the Federal Council of States, and a member of the National Council in 1890. He was famous as an advocate of international peace, and for his work in this direction he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with ÉlieElie Ducommun in 1902. He recorded his impressions of a visit to America in Croquis et impressions d'Amériqued'Amerique (1904). He became head of the International Bureau of Peace at Bern in 1907.