Winning a silver medal in coxed fours at the 1948 Olympics was just a footnote in Rudolf Reichling’s life, although he also won bronze in the eights at the 1947 European Championships. A son of prominent Swiss politician Rudolf Reichling, Sr. (1890-77), who was president of the Swiss National Council in 1936-37, Rudolf, Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and became one of the most influential Swiss politicians in the 1970s and 1980s. After graduating from the University of Zürich with an agronomy degree in 1949, Reichling worked as an agronomy teacher at vocational school from 1949-74, and also managed his family dairy farm. A member of the Swiss People’s Party, he was a member of the Stäfa municipal council from 1954-62 and a member of the Cantonal Council of Zürich from 1971-79, serving as president of the Council in 1977. From 1975-91, Reichling was a member of the Swiss National Council and was its president in 1987-88. Reichling was also president of the Central Association of Swiss Milk Producers from 1973-92, president of the Zürich Canton Theater from 1981-87, president of the Swiss Crafts Association from 1989-98, and president of the Swiss Open-Air Museum Ballenberg from 1992-2000.
Switzerland