Andri Sebastian Silberschmidt colloquially Andri Silberschmidt-Buhofer (; born 26 February 1994) is a Swiss businessman, politician and former banker who currently serves on the National Council for The Liberals since 2019.

Early life and education

Silberschmidt was born 26 February 1994 in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland, to Georg Silberschmidt, a gymnastics teacher and former

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

, and Katharina Silberschmidt (

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 ...

Wimmer), an

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

. His paternal family were

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

who came to Switzerland from Germany. His ancestor, Moise Silberschmidt (1838–1890), a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

, emigrated to

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...

Romandy Romandy ( or ; Arpitan: ''Romandia'')Before World War I, the term French Switzerland () waalso used ( or , , ) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss pop ...

, originally being from Niederwerrn,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. There he was the proprietor of a watch manufacturing company. The Silberschmidt family took Swiss citizenship there in 1875. Some of his ancestors died in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Silberschmidt

dropped out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...

of high school in grade 9. He then ultimately completed a commercial apprenticeship at

Zurich Cantonal Bank Zurich Cantonal Bank (, or ZKB) is the largest cantonal bank and fourth largest bank in Switzerland, with total assets of over CHF 150 billion. ZKB, as an independent, incorporated public-law institution, is wholly owned by the canton of Zür ...

, concurrently completing professional maturity, between 2009 and 2012. He then studied

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

at Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW) with an exchange at

Cass Business School Bayes Business School, formerly known as Cass Business School, is the business school of City St George's, University of London, located in St Luke's, just to the north of the City of London. It was established in 1966. Bayes Business School ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Silberschmidt graduated with a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in Global Finance from

Bayes Business School Bayes Business School, formerly known as Cass Business School, is the business school of City St George's, University of London, located in St Luke's, London, St Luke's, just to the north of the City of London. It was established in 1966. Bayes ...

(formerly

Professional career

After completing his commercial apprenticeship, he worked for a subsidiary of

, offering financial services and fund services. He specifically managed

quantitative fund A quantitative fund is an investment fund that uses Quantitative analysis (finance), quantitative investment management instead of fundamental human analysis. Investment process An Investment, investment process is classified as Quantitative ana ...

s for the

third world The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

. In 2020, he became the corporate secretary of Planzer Holding Ltd., a major logistics and transportation company, where he formerly was project manager of the CFO office, and assistant to the executive board and board of directors. Concurrently, Silberschmidt is the controlling shareholder and chairman of Silberschmidt Ltd., which is his own holding company for a variety of business interests. He currently also serves as a strategic advisor for the Marcuard Family Office and president of FH Switzerland. He is currently a board member of Jucker Farm AG as well as Kaisin AG, a poké bole operation with several locations in Swiss cities, which he co-founded in 2017. He is a member of the board of trustees of Stiftung Wohnungen für kinderreiche Familien ( en. Foundation Apartments for large families) and the Fritz-Gerber-Stiftung für begabte junge Menschen ( en. Fritz-Gerber-Foundation for gifted young people).

Politics

In 2011, Silberschmidt joined the Young Liberals, aged 17. Shortly after joining, he founded the ''Young Liberals of the Hinwil District'' group, of which he became the chairman. In 2013, he took over the presidency of the ''Young Liberals of the Canton of Zurich''. From March 2016 to November 2019, Silberschmidt presided over the Young Liberals of Switzerland, with whom he launched the ''Pension Initiative''. His successor in this position was Matthias Müller. Between 2018 and 2020, Silberschmidt was elected to serve in the

municipal council, where he represented districts 7 and 8. In the

2019 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 20 October 2019 to elect all members of both houses of the Federal Assembly (Switzerland), Federal Assembly. This was followed by the 2019 Swiss Federal Council election, 2019 election to the Federal ...

, Silberschmidt was elected to 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 ...

for The Liberals, defeating incumbent Hans-Ulrich Bigler. He was 25 years old which makes him the youngest elected member of the National Council in the 51st legislative period. At The Liberals delegates' meeting on 2 October 2021 he was elected to the vice presidency of The Liberals Switzerland together with

Johanna Gapany Johanna Gapany (born 25 July 1988) is a Switzerland, Swiss politician of the FDP.The Liberals, FDP. The Liberals and a current member of the Council of States (Switzerland), Council of States in Switzerland. Early years and education She was ...

. From January to February 2019, he was a participant in the highly selective International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, which took place in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

and

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Personal life

On 2 November 2023, Silberschmidt married Andrea Buhofer (born 1994), a daughter of Philipp Buhofer and Michèle Buhofer, on

Lake Zug __NOTOC__ Lake Zug () is a lake in Central Switzerland, situated between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich. It stretches for between Arth and the Cham- Zug bay. The Lorze as the main feeder river empties its waters into the lake at its northern ex ...

. The Buhofer family is among the wealthiest families of Switzerland with an estimated net worth of 1–1.5 billion Swiss Francs (approximately $1.1–1.7 billion). They have one child. They reside in

Affoltern am Albis Affoltern am Albis (abbreviated as ''Affoltern a.A.''; Swiss German: ''Affoltere'') is a town and a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Affoltern is first mentioned in 1190 as ''Afiltre ...

. He is a

dual-citizen Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one country under its nationality and citizenship law as a national or citizen of that country. There is no ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberschmidt, Andri 1994 births Living people Politicians from Zurich Businesspeople from Zurich