Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis (; born 13 April 1961) is a Swiss physician and politician who has been a

Member of the Swiss Federal Council The seven members of the Federal Council (Switzerland), Swiss Federal Council (; ; ; ) constitute the federal government of Switzerland and collectively serve as the country's head of state. Each of the seven Federal Councillors heads a departm ...

since 1 November 2017. A member of

FDP.The Liberals FDP.The Liberals (, , , ) is a liberal political party in Switzerland. The party was formed on 1 January 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and the smaller Liberal Party (LPS/PLS), united. In Vaud and Valais, the parti ...

, Cassis was elected to the Federal Council on 20 September 2017 following the resignation of Didier Burkhalter. He has headed 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 ...

since he took office. On 8 December 2021, Cassis was elected President of the

Swiss Confederation 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. Switzerlan ...

for 2022.

Early life and education

Cassis was born 13 April 1961 at Malcantonese Hospital in Croglio (presently Sessa) in

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, to Gino Cassis and Mariarosa. He has three sisters. He was born an Italian citizen and received Swiss citizenship by derivation when his parents naturalized in 1976. He held dual citizenship until his election in 2017. Cassis studied Medicine at the

University of Zurich 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 the

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 ...

until 1987.

Career

He subsequently specialised in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

; he received his master's degree in public health in 1996. Cassis was awarded a doctorate in medicine (''Dr. med.'', MD) from the

in 1998. He was a

cantonal The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...

doctor in

from 1996 to 2008 and vice president of the Foederatio Medicorum Helveticorum (FMH, literally "Swiss Medical Association") from 2008 to 2012.

SRF Tagesschau ''SRF Tagesschau'' ( "View on the Day"), simply titled ''Tagesschau'' until 4 December 2005, is the title of a current-affairs show on German-speaking Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people S ...

''Hauptausgabe'' 20 September 2017

Political career

National Council

Residing in the

canton of Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzo ...

, Cassis served in the National Council from 4 June 2007 to 30 October 2017 where he was affiliated with

Federal Council

When Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter announced his retirement in 2017, Cassis was one of the three candidates the FDP chose to replace him, the other two being

Isabelle Moret Isabelle Moret (born Zuppiger, 30 December 1970) is a Swiss politician who served as President of the National Council from 2019 to 2020. A member of FDP.The Liberals since its foundation in 2009, she first entered the National Council in 2006 ...

(a National Councillor from

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

) and

Pierre Maudet Pierre Maudet (born 6 March 1978) is a Swiss and French politician. A former member of FDP.The Liberals, he was the mayor of Geneva from 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012. Long described as "prodigy" of Swiss politics, Maudet became embroiled in a se ...

(a cantonal official from Geneva and former Mayor of Geneva). Cassis was considered the favourite to succeed Burkhalter. In the election, held on 20 September 2017, the Federal Assembly elected Cassis to the Federal Council in the second round by taking 125 of 244 valid votes, becoming the 117th Federal Councillor since 1848. He was supported by the centre-right and right-wing parties in the Assembly. Cassis became the first Federal Councillor from Ticino since 1999, and the first Italian-speaking Federal Councillor since then. The Swiss press generally commented positively on Cassis's election. Cassis took office on 1 November 2017 as head of the

Department of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

, succeeding Didier Burkhalter. He caused some controversy shortly after his election when the media reported that he addressed and joined ProTell, a

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

advocacy group, nine days before his election, something that might have made his relationship with the EU difficult as Foreign Minister due to discussions over joint gun policy. Cassis ended his membership in ProTell and other gun rights organisations shortly afterward. A member of the Swiss Parliament's Israel Friendship Group, Ignazio Cassis defends positions perceived as pro-Israeli. In 2019, he ordered the suspension of Swiss aid to

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

, which he had criticized in several speeches. In 2021 Cassis served as Vice President of Switzerland. On 8 December 2021, he was elected President of Switzerland for the year 2022. He assumed the office on 1 January 2022 succeeding

Guy Parmelin Guy Bernard Parmelin (; born 9 November 1959) is a Swiss Federal Councillor and head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he has been a member of the Federal Council si ...

. In 2022, as president of the Swiss confederation, Cassis took a leading role in redefining

Swiss neutrality One of the main principles of Switzerland's foreign policy is that Switzerland is not to be involved in armed conflicts between other states. This policy is self-imposed and designed to ensure external security and promote peace. Switzerland ha ...

in light of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In a delicate balance between a failed agreement towards the EU proposed framework accord and Swiss national interests, he has taken sides with the EU with regards to international sanctions against Russia. On 20 October, Cassis made an official visit to Ukraine, meeting President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

, Prime Minister

Denys Shmyhal Denys Anatoliiovych Shmyhal (, ; born 15 October 1975) is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur who has served as the 18th and current prime minister of Ukraine since 2020. Before his appointment as prime minister, Shmyhal was the governor ...

and Foreign Minister

Dmytro Kuleba Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba ( ; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was concurrently a member of the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine. The youngest foreign affai ...

Personal life

Cassis is married to Dr. Paola Cassis and lives in

Montagnola Montagnola () is a small Switzerland, Swiss village in Collina d'Oro municipality. Located in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, it is close to the border between Switzerland and Italy. It looks over Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano upon it ...

References

External links

Federal Presidency
* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassis, Ignazio 1961 births 20th-century Swiss physicians 21st-century Swiss politicians 21st-century Swiss physicians FDP.The Liberals politicians Foreign ministers of Switzerland Living people Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the Swiss Confederation People from Lugano District Swiss general practitioners Swiss internists Swiss people of Italian descent University of Zurich alumni University of Lausanne alumni