Didier Eric Burkhalter (born 17 April 1960) 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 2009 to 2017. A member of FDP.The Liberals, he 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 ...

in 2014. Burkhalter was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governm ...

on 16 September 2009; he succeeded Pascal Couchepin on 1 November 2009 when he became head of the

Federal Department of Home Affairs The Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA, , french: Département fédéral de l'intérieur, links=no, , rm, ) is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss ministry of the interior. As of 2012, it is ...

. From 1 January 2012 to 31 October 2017, he served as head of the

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...

. As President of the Swiss Confederation, he served as Chairman-in-Office of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

(OSCE) in 2014. He left the Federal Council on 31 October 2017.

Biography

A native of

Auvernier Auvernier is a village in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The municipalities of Auvernier, Bôle and Colombier merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Milvignes.Grand Council of Neuchâtel from 1990 to 2001. From 1991 to 2005, he was a member of Neuchâtel's city government (''Conseil communal''); he was the Mayor of Neuchâtel several times (1994/1995, 1998/1998, 2001/2002). From 2003 to 2007, he was a member of the

Swiss National Council The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...

. He was a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) until the foundation of FDP.The Liberals in 2009. On 11 November 2007, Burkhalter was elected to the Council of States, along with

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) candidate

Gisèle Ory Gisèle Ory (born 30 April 1956 in Biel/Bienne) is a politician from the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. She is a member of the Socialist Party. Gisèle Ory graduated from the University of Lausanne (political sciences) in 1978. In 1996, s ...

, who was reelected for a second term. During the election campaign, he was backed by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(LPS/PLS) and the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (german: Schweizerische Volkspartei, SVP; rm, Partida populara Svizra, PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (french: Union démocratique du centre, UDC; it, Unione Democratica di Centro, UDC), is a nati ...

(SVP/UDC). Two years later, he was

to the

On 4 December 2013, Burkhalter was elected as

for the 2014 term by taking 183 of the available 222 votes of the Federal Assembly. On 1 January 2014 Burkhalter assumed the office as President of the Swiss Confederation. As President of the Confederation, he presided over meetings of the Federal Council and carried out 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. He was also the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence and had the power to act on behalf of the whole Federal Council in emergency situations. However, in most cases, the officeholder is merely ''

primus 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 se ...

'', with no powers over and above his six colleagues. Burkhalter has a degree in Economics, is married to a native Austrian and the father of three children. On 14 June 2017 Burkhalter published a letter in which he announced that he will be resigning as a Federal Councillor on 31 October 2017. He was succeeded by

Ignazio Cassis Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis (; born 13 April 1961) is a Swiss physician and politician who has served as President of the Swiss Confederation since 1 January 2022. A member of FDP. The Liberals, he has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Cou ...

. In April 2018, Burkhalter stated he disagreed with his colleagues on arms exports to war zones and equal pay for men and women, issues he described as "fundamental values."

References

External links

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Presidential year 2014
(English)

(English)

(English)

(English) * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Burkhalter, Didier 1960 births FDP.The Liberals politicians Foreign ministers of Switzerland Living people Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) People from Neuchâtel University of Neuchâtel alumni