Carlo Sommaruga (born 8 July 1959) is a Swiss lawyer and politician of the

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (, SP; ), also called the Swiss Socialist Party (; , PS), is a List of political parties in Switzerland, political party in Switzerland. The SP has had two representatives on the Federal Council (Switzerl ...

(SP). He has been a National Councilor for over a decade and since 2019 he is a member of the Council of States.

Early life and education

He was born into a family with a political background in

Zürich 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 ...

. His father is

Cornelio Sommaruga Cornelio Sommaruga (29 December 1932 – 18 February 2024) was a Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat who is best known for having been President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1987 to 1999. He chaired the Geneva ...

, a former diplomat and president of the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

(ICRC). He grew up in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where he studied law at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. He obtained his lawyers license in 1989. Subsequently, Sommaruga attended the

Graduate Institute of Development Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

in 1984-1985.

Political career

Between 1991 and 2001 he was a member of the municipal council of

Thônex Thônex () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It is situated in the east of the canton and shares a border with the French town of Ambilly. History In 1869 the municipality was created when Chê ...

and a member of the Grand Council of Geneva from 2001 to 2003. He became a member of the National Council in 2003 and was re-elected until 2019. In November 2019 he was elected into the Council of States representing the SP for the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...

Political positions

In 2007 he suggested that members of the

Swiss diaspora The Swiss diaspora refers to Swiss people living abroad (, , , ), also referred to as "fifth Switzerland" (, , , ), alluding to the fourfold linguistic division within the country. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) cares for Swis ...

were to be represented in Parliament, which in 2009 was voted down by the Council of States. Since 2017 Sommaruga was a main force behind a law which would have prohibited

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...

s in Switzerland, both signed by the National council and the Counci of States, but on request of the Federal Councilor

Ignazio Cassis Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis (; born 13 April 1961) is a Swiss physician and politician who has been a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1 November 2017. A member of FDP.The Liberals, Cas ...

, the

Federal Council Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...

refused to sign it. As a member of the National Council, he was the co-president of the Parliamentarian Group for the relations to the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

people. He was also critical to the Israeli incursion into the Gaza strip in 2008–2009 and in 2017, he asked in the National Council if a prosecution would be launched against the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i politician

Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni (, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel), foreign mini ...

, who visited Switzerland at the time. Besides he is a supporter of the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...

(BDS) movement with other politicians of the SP.

Professional career

He is a lawyer for the tenants' association of Switzerland in Geneva and in November 2016, he was elected their president. Since 2018, he is also the president of the board of directors of the Swiss branch of the European NGO for

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

Solidar SOLIDAR is a European network of NGOs working to advance social justice in Europe and worldwide. SOLIDAR voices the concerns of its member organisations to the EU and international institutions across the policy sectors of social affairs, inte ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommaruga, Carlo 20th-century Swiss lawyers Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2011–2015 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2007–2011 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2003–2007 Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians 1959 births Living people Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni