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Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey (born 8 July 1945) is a Swiss politician who served as a
Member of the Swiss Federal Council Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries ...
from 2003 to 2011. A member of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(SP/PS), she was the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs during her tenure as a Federal Councillor. She was
President of the Swiss Confederation The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head of Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council, the country's executive branch. Elected by ...
twice, in 2007 and 2011.


Early life and education

Calmy-Rey was born in Sion in the
canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
on 8 July 1945 to Charles and Adeline Rey. She received her diploma in 1963 in Saint-Maurice and a
licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
at the
Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...
,
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, in 1968. While studying she married André Calmy; they have two children.


Career

Calmy-Rey established a small enterprise in the book distribution business. From 1981 to 1997 Calmy-Rey served as a representative in the Grand Conseil of the
canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...
as a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSS/SPS), and was president of the assembly during 1992–1993. She was president of the Geneva section of the party from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, Calmy-Rey was elected to the Conseil d'Etat of Geneva. In 2001, she became head of the finance department and president of the Conseil d'Etat of the canton. She was elected on 4 December 2002 to the Federal Council, heading the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2011. Calmy-Rey is the fourth woman elected to the Federal Council in history. She was also elected Vice-President of Switzerland, a post she held for the calendar year of 2006 and the calendar year of 2010. Calmy-Rey supports Switzerland joining the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
and she is an Eminent Member of the
Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...
. The project ''SAFFA 2020'' is also under her patronage and of the councillors (''Bundesrat'') Doris Leuthard,
Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2010. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and 202 ...
and
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (born 16 March 1956) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2008 to 2015. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) until 2008, she has since then been a member of the ...
. Since 2016, Calmy-Rey has been a member of the board of the Global Leadership Foundation (chaired by
FW de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...
), an organisation that works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organisation composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with heads of government on governance-related issues of concern to them. She is a member of the board Geneva of GESDA (Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator).


Presidency

On 1 January 2007, Calmy-Rey became the second female president of the Confederation in history, the first having been her predecessor on the Federal Council, Ruth Dreifuss. She was elected as president on 13 December 2006 by 147 votes. However, by Swiss tradition, it was a foregone conclusion she would be elected. She had been the longest-serving councillor not to have been president, and had served as vice-president for 2006. As President of the Confederation, she presided over meetings of the Federal Council and carried out certain representative functions that would normally be handled by a
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
in other democracies, (though in Switzerland, the Federal Council as a whole is regarded as the head of state). She was also the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence, and had the power to act on behalf of the whole Council in emergency situations. However, in most cases she was merely ''
prima inter pares ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their sen ...
'', with no power above and beyond her six colleagues. She had already handled most official visits abroad since being elected to the Federal Council; the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs traditionally carries out such visits. Calmy-Rey was chosen as vice president for 2010, serving alongside Doris Leuthard. On 8 December 2010, she was chosen, for the second time, as president for 2011 (by 106 votes out of 189, this being the smallest margin in Swiss history) – the first time two women held the post in succession. Calmy-Rey is a member of the
Council of Women World Leaders The Council of Women World Leaders, created in 1996, is a network of 83 current and former presidents and prime ministers. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to women heads of state and government. The council's Ministerial Initia ...
, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development. She announced in September 2011 that she would resign from the government in the following December. From 2012 to 2013, Calmy-Rey was a member of the High-Level Advisory Council of the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
's then foreign minister Vuk Jeremić.


Political views

Calmy-Rey is a member of the Socialist party of Switzerland and positions herself as pro-European. In February 2014 she stated that Switzerland should join the European Union to be included in the European political agenda on the continent. In 2016, she expressed concerns about the
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
impact on the European sovereignty, but recommended that Switzerland opened up to Great Britain as the two countries now faced the same configuration towards the European political power. In February 2020, Calmy-Rey joined around fifty former European prime ministers and foreign ministers in signing an open letter published by British newspaper ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' to condemn U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
’s Middle East peace plan, saying it would create an
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
-like situation in occupied Palestinian territory.


Academic career

In May 2012 Calmy-Rey was appointed as invited professor et the University of Geneva ( Global studies institute).


Other assignments

* Member of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability. A report of the panel was published in February 2012. * Member of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Global Response to Health Crisis . A report was published in January 2016. * Membre of the council of the Global Leadership Foundation (GLF). * Membre du conseil de la fondation GESDA (Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator).


Awards

* 2011: Prix Diaspora for her role in the recognition of Kosovo independence * 2012: Medal of honour of
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
* 2012: Docteur honoris causa of the International University in Geneva * 2014: Badge of the Order of Friendship in recognition of her contribution in the reinforcing of the friendship and cooperation between Russia and Switzerland. * 2017: Citizen of honour of the city of Viti, Kosovo.


Controversy

According to the BBC, Calmy-Rey was "widely criticised" for putting on a headscarf to meet Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
on 19 March 2008, even though it was acknowledged that she was simply following proper social protocol. While Socialist MP Liliane Maury Pasquier agreed that the Swiss representant had to respect foreign protocols, this sparked a negative remark from Socialist MP Maria Roth-Bernasconi. In response, Calmy-Rey stated that she was following protocol out of respect, and that had she not done so, she would not have been able to attend the meeting, which has been widely acknowledged. Calmy-Rey also prompted controversy by attending the signing of a multibillion-dollar
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
deal of a Swiss energy supply company with Iran. The United States had complained that Switzerland was sending the wrong message when Tehran was subject to UN sanctions. Calmy-Rey pointed out that gas exports were not subject to the UN sanctions. Both the
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i government and international Jewish groups such as the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...
strongly criticised the deal.


Publications

* « The Art and Science of Negotiations : "De–Politicizing and Technicizing Negotiations", in ''WTO Accessions - The Upper Floors of the Trading System'', WTO & Cambridge University Press (in Druck). * « Doktrin in globalen Kontext », in Konrad Hummler et Franz Jaeger, ''Kleinstaat Schweiz – Auslauf- oder Erfolgsmodell?'', Zürich, NZZ Libro, 2017 * ''Die Schweiz, die ich uns wünsche.'' Übersetzt aus dem Französischen von Irma Wehrli, mit einem Vorwort von Charles Lewinsky. Nagel & Kimche, Zürich 2014, . * ''La Suisse que je souhaite''. Lausanne, Éditions Favre, 2014 * « The Swiss Model », ''Horizons'', Autumn 2014 * « Justice sociale et liberté politique selon Calvin : clarification et perspectives », ''La Vie Protestante'', Genève 2010


References

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German-language Wikipedia article and the equivalent French-language Wikipedia article (retrieved 1 April 2006).


External links


Official website
* * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Calmy-Rey, Micheline 1945 births 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians Female foreign ministers Foreign ministers of Switzerland Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Living people Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) People from Sion, Switzerland Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Swiss Roman Catholics Women members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Swiss women diplomats Swiss socialist feminists