Christoph Mörgeli ( born 16 July 1960) is a Swiss medical historian, journalist and former politician. He served as a member of 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 ...

from 1999 to 2015 for the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

. He previously also served as a member of the

Cantonal Council of Zürich The Cantonal Council of Zürich () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Zürich, Zürich, in Switzerland. Zürich has a unicameral legislature. The Cantonal Council has 180 seats, with members elected every four ...

between 1997 and 1999. Mörgeli announced to run for office again 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 ...

but was not elected again.

Early life and education

Mörgeli was born 16 July 1960 in Stäfa, Switzerland, a small municipality on

Lake Zürich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

to Adolf and Marta (''

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 ...

'' Koller) Mörgeli. He has one brother and a sister. His parents were teachers at the local school in Stäfa. His nephew, Rafael Mörgeli, is a member 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 ...

and was elected as a member of the

for the

Meilen Meilen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than ...

constituency in 2022. He attended the Cantonal School of

Wetzikon Wetzikon is a small town in the Zürcher Oberland, Zurich Highlands (Zürcher Oberland) area of Switzerland, in the district of Hinwil (district), Hinwil in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich. Geography The Municipal ...

where he graduated with his Matura Typus A in 1979. Mörgeli then studied history, Political Science and German Literature and Linguistics at

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 ...

graduating in 1985 with a Licentiate (equivalent to a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

). In 1986, he completed his

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

under professor Peter Stadler, on a thesis about Johannes Hegetschweiler.

Career

Subsequently, after his graduation he worked as permanent scientific assistant at the Medical History Institute of the

, as well as curator of the Museum for Medical History. He remained with the Institute and Museum of Medical History until his dismissal after 'Causa Mörgeli', when it became public that he let his students copy theses for their

studies. His main research was about the history of the

danse macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...

. Since 2016, he engages in self-employed activities as historian, with his company Research Mörgeli GmbH, primarily in the field of medical historical research.

Politics

In 1986, Mörgeli started his political career as a member of the church commission of Stäfa. He was elected into

for the

in 1997 and remained a member until 1999. In the

1999 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 24 October 1999.Dieter Nohlen & Pjilip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1895 Although the Swiss People's Party received the most votes for the first time in the party's histo ...

, Mörgeli was elected in the

. He was not re-elected in the

2015 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 18 October 2015 for the National Council and the first round of elections to the Council of States, with runoff elections to the Council of States being held in various cantons until 22 November. R ...

and resigned from public office.

Personal life

Mörgeli was married to Yvonne Jenny, with whom he has two children; Maurice (b. 1998) and Michelle (b. 2000). Since 2014, he has been in a relationship with Andrea Giger (b. c. 1985). He is a member of the ''Guild zur Schmiden'' (Zunft zur Schmiden), a well-established guild of the city of Zurich. Mörgeli resides in Stäfa.

Awards

* Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Prize, 1996 * Columnist of the Year (Schweizer Journalist in 2007) * Arosa Humorschaufel, Arosa Humor Festival, 2012 (nominated)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgeli, Christoph Living people 1960 births Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2011–2015 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2007–2011 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2003–2007