Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is a Swiss government official who has served as
Chancellor of Switzerland since 2016.
Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the
Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC). When it merged with the
Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form
The Centre (DM/LC) in 2021, Thurnherr joined the new party.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Muri, Aargau, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the
ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, a ...
in 1987, before studying mathematics at the
University of Bern
The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...
. In 1989, he joined the ranks of Switzerland's diplomatic corps. In 2002, he was appointed chief of staff of the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs under Federal Councillor
Joseph Deiss
Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed the Federal Departme ...
. The following year, he was named chief of staff of the
Federal Department of Economic Affairs, first under
Pascal Couchepin, then Deiss and finally
Doris Leuthard. He followed Leuthard when she took over the
Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications in 2011 as her chief of staff.
Federal Chancellor
He stood for election to succeed
Corina Casanova
Corina Casanova (born 4 January 1956) is a Swiss politician who was the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland between 2008 and 2015.
Born in Ilanz, Graubünden, Casanova worked as a lawyer in the practice of the former President of the Swiss Federal ...
as
Chancellor of Switzerland on 9 December 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in 90 years. He was elected by the
Swiss Federal Assembly
The Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung, french: Assemblée fédérale, it, Assemblea federale, rm, Assamblea federala), also known as the Swiss parliament (''Parlament'', ''Parlement'', ''Parlamento''), is Switzerland's federal legi ...
with 230 votes out of 234.
He assumed office on 1 January 2016. He was reelected on 11 December 2019 with 219 votes out of 224.
References
External links
Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurnherr, Walter
1963 births
21st-century Swiss politicians
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians
Federal Chancellors of Switzerland
Living people
University of Bern alumni