Elmar Theodor Mäder (born 28 July 1963) is a Swiss military officer who served as the 33rd

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the

Pontifical Swiss Guards The Pontifical Swiss Guard,; ; ; ; , %5BCorps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard%5D. ''vatican.va'' (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022. also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,Swiss Guards , History, Vatican, Uniform, Require ...

, a position which he held between 2002 and 2008, serving Popes

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

and

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

Biography

Mäder was born in Henau (now known as

Uzwil Uzwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Uzwil was first mentioned in 819 as ''Uzzinwilare''. The village of Henau was first mentioned 754 as ''Villa Aninauva'' at th ...

) in the canton of St. Gallen, one of five children of Theo and Katharina Mäder. He attended scholl in nearby Zuzwil. Mäder studied law at the ''Hochschule'' in St. Gallen and at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

before entering the

Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

, where he attained the rank of

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in the Air Defense Troops. He was named vice commander of the Papal Swiss Guards in 1998 and named commander by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 8 November 2002, succeeding Pius Segmüller. By the time he was appointed commander, he had already reached the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He served under

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

from 2005.{{Cite web, url=https://www.tagblatt.ch/international/ein-papst-der-auch-mal-regeln-biegt-ld.930619, title=Ein Papst, der auch mal Regeln biegt, language=de, work= St. Galler Tagblatt, date=2013-02-13, access-date=2025-04-07 Mäder made headlines in 2005 when as commander he said that there was no plan to allow women into the Swiss Guards. His reason was that the Guard's quarters were too small and the entry of women would lead to discipline problems. Mäder held the post of commander until being replaced by Daniel Anrig on 19 August 2008. In 2009, new commander Daniel Anrig rowed back on Mäder's comments, telling television channel

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

when asked about the issue, that women being in the Swiss Guards was "possible". He was walking along the

Popemobile The popemobile (Latin: ''papacinetum'' or ''papocinetum''; Italian language, Italian: ''papamobile)'' is a specially designed motor vehicle used by the pope for public appearances. It is the successor to the ''sedia gestatoria'' (portable throne) ...

on 6 June 2007 when a German man jumped over the security cordons and tried to jump into the vehicle.{{cite web , title=Man Tries To Jump Into Popemobile , url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-tries-to-jump-into-popemobile/ , website= CBS News , access-date=2021-10-25 , date=2007-06-06 Mäder is married to Theresa Clochliger. They have four children, the fourth of which was baptised by Benedict XVI.

References

{{Reflist {{s-start {{s-mil {{s-bef, before= Pius Segmüller {{s-ttl, title= Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard , years=2002–2008 {{s-aft, after= Daniel Anrig {{s-end {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Mader, Elmar Commanders of the Swiss Guard 1963 births Living people Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Swiss military officers University of Fribourg alumni University of St. Gallen alumni