Pius Segmüller (born 8 March 1952) is a Swiss politician and former commander of the

Swiss Guard 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 ...

in the

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

(1998-2002). Segmüller was appointed Commander of the Swiss Guard following the death of

Alois Estermann Alois Estermann (29 October 1954 – 4 May 1998) was a Swiss military officer. He served as the 31st Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard. Estermann and his wife were murdered in his apartment in Vatican City on 4 May 1998, the same day he ...

. Segmüller took office on 1 August 1998, nearly three months after the tragic events of May 4, when Commander Alois Estermann, his wife, and a young Swiss Guard from Valais named Cédric Tornay died. He became the 32nd Commander of the Swiss Guard. Born in Emmen in the canton of

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, Segmüller is originally from

Altstätten Altstätten is a small List of towns in Switzerland, historic rural town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Rheintal (Wahlkreis), Rhine Valley, in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gall i ...

in the

Canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen or St Gall ( ; ; ; ) is a canton of Switzerland. Its capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern Switzerland, the canton has an area of (5% of Switzerland) and a resident population close to half a million as of ...

. He was named an honorary citizen of

Randa Randa may refer to: *Jrarrat, Kotayk, Armenia, formerly ''Randa'' *Randa, Djibouti *Randa, Switzerland *Randa, Mallorca *Randa rockslides of 1991 (Switzerland) *Randa Apparel & Accessories, an American clothing company *Puig de Randa, a summit in th ...

in the canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

for his service during a local disaster. Prior to his Vatican appointment, he was a practicing Catholic in the parish of Burgdorf in the canton of Bern. Segmüller studied to become a secondary school teacher at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

before attending the military academy at the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich (1980 and 1985). He also completed staff courses in Bern and at the Swiss Police Institute in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

(1995 and 1996). He spent 13 years as a career

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

in rescue troops before returning to civilian status. Before being appointed 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 ...

, he worked at the Bern Canton Security Office as the head of training and disaster response. A multilingual officer, Segmüller speaks native German, fluent French, and has knowledge of English and Italian. His experience with both German and French-speaking soldiers came from commanding a mixed rescue battalion and later a hospital regiment in Valais. He is married to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

woman and is the father of two children. In an interview following his appointment, Segmüller stated that he viewed his position not merely as a professional challenge but as a vocation aligned with his faith. In 2002, he was succeeded by Elmar Mäder, who had served as his vice-commander since August 1, 1998, and became head of the police of the city of

(2002–2006). In October 2007, Segmüller was elected to the

Swiss National Council The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC) from the

Canton of Lucerne The canton of Lucerne ( ; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the country's central, German-speaking Switzerland, German-speaking part. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 57 ...

. In

2011 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 23 October 2011. All of the Federal Assembly were to be elected: all 200 seats in the National Council and all 46 seats in the Council of States. Voter turnout was 49.1%, compared to 48.9% in 2 ...

he was not re-elected. He is currently Director of Security for the International Federation of Association Football (

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Segmuller, Pius 1952 births Swiss Roman Catholics Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2007–2011 Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians Living people Commanders of the Swiss Guard