Hans Konrad von Orelli was born on 19 July 1916 in Sissach (Basle-Country canton, Switzerland) and died on 17 June 1992 in Lucerne.
His father, also called Hans Konrad von Orelli (1882-1961), was a well-known theologian and professor, rector (chancellor) of the Basel University, from an old Swiss family. (The von Orelli are originally a noble family from Locarno, Italy. Some of them moved to Zurich in the 16th century following their choice for protestantism.)
He attended primary school and free grammar school in Zurich, studied law in Zurich, doctoral thesis on: 'The Relationship between Democracy and the Separation of Powers and its Changes, especially in the Swiss Confederation' (published 1947). His thoughts from his doctoral thesis were taken into account in the Nigerian constitution and thus fed into the formation of the state of the West African nation of Nigeria.
Hans Konrad von Orelli married Marlies Hildegard Emma Wenner on 8 October 1946 in Caux (Switzerland). The couple had two children: Marianne on 19.07.1947, who married Christoph Spreng, Monica on 08.08.1949, who married Folker Mittag.
The von Orellis worked together as voluntary, full-time workers for Moral Re-Armament, travelling to Africa (1952-55), Scandinavia and Finland (55-56). When in Switzerland, they stayed mainly at the conference centre in Caux.
Hans Konrad von Orelli was editor of the Information Service of Moral Re-Armament, later called Caux Information. He contributed to the German translation of many MRA publications, both the quarterly journals and books.
He was also Secretary of the Foundation for Moral Re-Armament in Switzerland, the legal body which owns the Conference Centre in Caux, from 1946 to 1958 and from 1968 to 1982.
During his involvement in Moral Re-Armament he made friends with many personalities from Switzerland and other countries, and during his illness he kept these relationships alive through correspondence. Thoughts about personal conversations with these friends often deprived him of sleep, as did the writing of articles about the burning problems and 'hot' topics of the time. His concern was to help people make the right decisions in their lives through personal change.
Even during his illness, the couple always had an open home for many young people who, for various reasons, wanted to discuss problems and decisions or learn about caring for people from the couple.
