Alfred Escher (February 20, 1819 in Zürich – December 6, 1882) was a Swiss politician and railway entrepreneur. A member of the Swiss National Council from 1848 to his death 1882, he presided over the council three times (1849-50, 1856-57 and 1862-63).
Escher endorsed the idea of building and running the railway lines in Switzerland by private companies. Later (after 1853), by being president of railway companies, he became a railway magnate.
He was one of the founders of Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (now Credit Suisse) in 1856.
He died in 1882 in Zürich. On June 22, 1889, the Alfred-Escher memorial by Richard Kissling at Zürich Hauptbahnhof was inaugurated.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jakob Robert Steiger |
President of the National Council 1849/1850 |
Succeeded by Johann Konrad Kern |
| Preceded by Jules Martin |
President of the National Council 1856/1857 |
Succeeded by Paul Migy |
| Preceded by Karl Karrer |
President of the National Council 1862/1863 |
Succeeded by Joachim Heer |