Ernst Sieber The pastor of the homeless turns 90
A demonstration by the youth movement in Zurich on June 28, 1980. Sieber brought a donkey (Keystone)
Sieber at a shelter for people living on the edges of society in 1988 (Keystone)
As a politician, Sieber was keen on symbolic gestures to draw attention to social injustice, such as here in parliament in 1992 (Kexstone)
A symbol frequently used by Sieber (RDB)
Sieber in a new "self-help village" for drug addicts in Urdorf, canton Zurich, in 1994 (Keystone)
Sieber relaxes and finds inspiration in nature, with animals and painting (RDB)
Sieber and young people at risk of developing drug problems drive more than 200 goats - with professional goatherds - in 2001 (Keystone)
Sieber with wife Sonja on his 80th birthday (Keystone)
Presenting the construction of a shelter in Zurich in 2011 (Keystone)
Sieber receives an award for his life's work from the mayor of Zurich in 2013 (Keystone)
Sieber in a new bus that offers shelter to almost 40 homeless people in Zurich in 2016 (Keystone)
Switzerland’s best-known pastor, Ernst Sieber, is celebrating his 90th birthday. For decades he has worked tirelessly for the poor and those on the edges of society, driven by a vision for a fairer world with greater solidarity.
At the beginning of the 1960s Sieber converted a bunker into a shelter for the homeless. In the 1980s he launched a crusade against drugs in Zurich that paved the way for him to become a member of the House of Representatives for the Protestant Party from 1991 to 1995.
At the peak of his activities, Sieber’s social programme included shelters, homes and meeting places in four cantons with 215 workers.
Rocked by a financial scandal, his social work foundation risked bankruptcy at the end of 2004 but was saved by intervention from the state and church and by donations. Sieber was forced to resign as head of the foundation but he stayed on as honorary chairman.
Ernst Sieber lives in canton Zurich with his wife and their eight children, four of whom are adopted.
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