Helene Budliger Artieda (* 1965 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 ...
;
domiciled in
Hitzkirch
Hitzkirch is a municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009, Gelfingen, Hämikon, Mosen, Müswangen, Retschwil and Sulz joined Hitzkirch. On 1 January 2021, Altwis merged into Hitzkir ...
) is a
Swiss diplomat and Director of the
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
(SECO) as
State Secretary since August 2022. She is a former director of resources at the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, , , , ), so named since 1979, is one of the seven Departments of the Swiss government federal administration of Switzerland, and corresponds in its range of tasks to the ministry of foreign affa ...
and was ambassador to
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
and
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, based in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, from 2019 to 2022.
Career
Her career at the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, , , , ), so named since 1979, is one of the seven Departments of the Swiss government federal administration of Switzerland, and corresponds in its range of tasks to the ministry of foreign affa ...
(FDFA) began in 1985 as a secretary in
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. In this function, Helene Budliger made her first foreign assignments in
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
in Nigeria,
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> in Cuba and San Francisco in the US. She completed the FDFA stage in Bern and the practical part as a consular employee in <div class=)
.
She successfully completed the stage in 1994.
Budliger Artieda's first stop after her training took her to
Lima
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, where she met her future husband.
During her employment at the
Swiss Embassy in Colombia, Helen Budliger Artieda studied business administration in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
.
She completed her studies with a Master's degree. She returned to Switzerland in 2000 and held various positions in the FDFA's Finance Division. From 1 July 2006 to 2008, Budliger Artieda was Head of Finance at the FDFA.
In 2008, Foreign Minister
Micheline Calmy-Rey
Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey (born 8 July 1945) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was the head of the Federal Department of Foreign ...
appointed Helen Budliger Artieda as the first female director of the FDFA. On 1 October 2008, Budliger Artieda took over the Directorate for Resources at the FDFA from
Martin Dahinden
Martin Dahinden (born 8 January 1955) is a Swiss diplomat who has served as ambassador of Switzerland to the United States of America from 2014 to 2019. Dahinden presented his credentials to the President of the United States of America, Barack ...
,
who became head of the SDC. Until September 2015, she headed 380 employees and managed an annual budget volume of three billion Swiss francs.
In September 2015, Helene Budiger Artieda became Swiss Ambassador to South Africa.
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
,
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
,
Lesotho
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
,
Eswatini
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
and
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
were also part of her remit.
She was also Ambassador to the
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Goals
The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...
(SADC) in
Gaborone
Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...
.
On 14 December 2018, the Federal Council appointed Helene Budliger Artieda as Swiss ambassador to
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
and
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
.
She took up the new post in October 2019, succeeding Ivo Sieber.
In 2022, she was proposed to the Federal Council by a search committee as the successor to Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch as Director of the
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
(SECO). She took up the post on 1 August 2022.
Helene Budliger Artieda is married and has her second home in
Eich LU. She grew up in
Dübendorf
Dübendorf is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Uster (district), Uster in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland.
It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population o ...
.
References
External links
Helene Budliger Artiedaon the Website of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budliger Artieda, Helene
Living people
Swiss women ambassadors
Ambassadors of Switzerland to Thailand
1965 births