Tilo Frey

Tilo Frey (2 May 1923 – 27 June 2008) [1][2]) was a Swiss politician. She was one of the first twelve women elected to the National Council in 1971 and was the first person of African descent elected to the National Council.[3] Prior to her service at the federal level, she was a member of the municipal council of Neuchâtel and the Grand Council of Neuchâtel.[4]

Frey was the daughter of a Swiss father, Paul Frey of Brugg, and a Fula mother, Fatimatou Bibabadama.[5] As a mixed-race child in Switzerland, Frey faced considerable racism. Even her father advised her to "act as white as a lily".[6]

She was educated as a teacher and taught business classes at the Ecole de commerce of Neuchâtel in 1972–1976. From 1976 to 1984, she was director of the Ecole professionnelle de jeunes filles.

She became active in politics in 1959 once the Canton of Neuchâtel gave women the right to vote and run for public office.[7] When she was elected to the Grand Council of Neuchâtel, she became the first person of color to serve in that body. In 1971, Swiss voters approved a referendum giving women the right to vote and to stand for office. Frey entered the race for the National Council in the 1971 Swiss federal election and won a seat as a member of the Free Democratic Party, joining nine other women who entered the Council. Media coverage at the time was heavily focused on her race during the campaign.[6] Among her key issues were equal pay for woman and legalized abortion.[3] She was not re-elected in the 1975 election.[7] After her defeat, she returned to education as director of the Ecole professionnelle de jeunes filles.

Frey died on 27 June 2008 in her hometown of Neuchâtel at the age of 85.[3]

In June 2019, Neuchâtel changed the name of Espace Louis-Agassiz, near the Faculty of Letters of the University of Neuchâtel area, to Espace Tilo Frey. Louis Agassiz, who was a professor at the university in natural history and glaciology. Now recognized as having racist views, Agassiz published work on polygenism that claimed a ranking of the races in which blacks were inferior to whites and defended racial segregation.[7][8]