Andrea Claudio Caroni (; born 19 April 1980) is a Swiss lawyer and politician who currently serves on the Council of States since 2015. He previously served on the

National Council (Switzerland) The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly (Switzerland), Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States (Switzerland), Council of States, represents the states, preventing mor ...

between 2011 and 2015, then the only representative from the Canton of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. In 2024, Caroni was elected President of the Council of States for the 2024–2025 period.

Early life and education

Caroni was born 19 April 1980 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to Luciano Caroni and Vera Caroni (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Caflisch), an economist. His mother is from

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

. He was partially raised in Wolfhalden and Grub, Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. His paternal grandfather, Dr. Claudio Caroni (1907-1984), an attorney and industrialist, was of Ticinese origin from

Rancate Rancate was a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 5 April 2009 the municipalities of Arzo, Capolago, Genestrerio, Men ...

. In 1948, he took-over the delinquent Dornier plant in Altenrhein and rebranded them ''Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA)'' which manufactured

airplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

, funiculars,

sailing boats A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

and road tankers. He was also a private investor and board member of several companies (most notably ''Aufzüge AG, Schaffhausen'' and ''Kuranstalten Bad Ragaz''). His great-grandfather, Paul Jaberg (1878-1955), was president of

Union Bank of Switzerland Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) was a Swiss Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. The bank, which at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland, merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in ...

and board member of several companies including Bank in Winterthur, Sulzer and

Saurer Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna (beginning in 1929) brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were ...

. He completed his

Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

at the Trogen Cantonal School and then studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of Zürich 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 ...

and

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

. In 2007, he was admitted to the bar and completed his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 2008 in

State Law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...

and

International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. Between 2008 and 2010, Caroni was personal assistant to Federal Councilor

Hans-Rudolf Merz Hans-Rudolf Merz (; born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician who served as President of the Swiss Confederation, President of Switzerland in 2009. He concurrently served as a member of the Federal Council (Switzerland), Federal Council from 20 ...

. Between 2010 and 2012, he completed a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Professional career

Since 2012, Caroni is a lawyer at the firm ''ME Advocat Rechtsanwälte'' in

Herisau Herisau is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated ...

. Since 2013, he is additionally a lecturer in

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

at the University of St. Gallen.

Personal life

In 2013, Caroni married Jasmine Graf. They have two children; * Fiona Caroni (born 2014) * Flavio Caroni (born 2016) Since 2017, Caroni resides in

.https://www.blick.ch/politik/fdp-staenderat-baut-in-herisau-sein-traumhaus-caronis-villa-steht-wanderern-im-weg-id6134431.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caroni, Andrea 1980 births Living people Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) FDP.The Liberals politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians University of Zurich alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland)