Johann Niklaus Schneider colloquially Johann Schneider-Ammann (born 18 February 1952) is a Swiss businessman, electrical engineer and politician who most notably served as President of Switzerland in 2016, and concurrently as a member of the

Federal Council (Switzerland) The Federal Council is the federal Cabinet (government), cabinet of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and Head of government, government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the F ...

for The Liberals. During his tenure as a federal councillor, Schneider-Ammann headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. The Schneider-Ammann family is among the richest Swiss citizens with an estimated net worth of 650 million Swiss Francs (approximately $725 million in 2024) by Handelszeitung.

Early life and education

Schneider was born 18 February 1952 in Sumiswald, Switzerland, one of five children, to Ernst Schneider, a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

, and Elisabeth Schneider (

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 ...

Hofmann). He was raised in the Emmental and attended local schools. He attended the Gymnasium in

Langenthal Langenthal is a town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Oberaargau (administrative district), Oberaargau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Untersteckholz merged into the ...

where he graduated with his

Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

in 1972. Schneider graduated as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

ETH Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ra ...

in 1977 and obtained a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1983.

Professional career

Schneider-Ammann started his professional career at

Oerlikon-Bührle ''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Switzerland, Swiss arms industry, armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink ...

where he was a project manager from 1978 to 1981. He then entered the family business of his in-laws,

Ammann Group Ammann Group Holding AG (stylized as ΛMMΛNN) is a Swiss mechanical engineering company specialised on machines for the building industry and road construction. The group of companies employs around 3,000 people and generated sales of CHF 900 m ...

, in Langenthal in 1984. From 1990 to 2010, he served as president and chairman of

, in the fourth generation, when he passed control over the company to his two children.

Political career

In the 1999 federal election, Schneider-Ammann was elected to the Swiss National Council for the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

as a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD). From 1999, he also chaired the corporate union Swissmem. He was reelected to the National Council in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. In the context of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, Schneider-Ammann took a critical stance on bonuses awarded to the finance industry. However, Schneider-Ammann's company moved substantial funds to a

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, a

tax haven A tax haven is a term, often used pejoratively, to describe a place with very low tax rates for Domicile (law), non-domiciled investors, even if the official rates may be higher. In some older definitions, a tax haven also offers Bank secrecy, ...

, the same year. In 2009, Schneider-Ammann became a member of the newly-established FDP.The Liberals. In the 2010 election, he was elected to the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand co ...

as Hans-Rudolf Merz's successor. He took office on 1 November 2010 as the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, which became the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research in 2013. He had previously announced his intention to step down from his corporate responsibilities as well as various board memberships if elected. In 2015, he took office as Vice President of Switzerland under President

Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and ...

. He was inaugurated as

President of the Swiss Confederation The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the confederation, federal president or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is as ''primus inter pares'' among the other members of the Federal Council (Switze ...

on 1 January 2016 along Vice President Doris Leuthard. In March 2016, he became an

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

after a speech on laughter that many deemed sad. On 1 June 2016, as President of Switzerland, Schneider-Ammann was present at the official opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which became the world's longest railway tunnel, alongside German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

, French President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

and Italian Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

among others. On 31 December 2018, Schneider-Ammann left the Federal Council; he was replaced by

Karin Keller-Sutter Karin Maria Keller-Sutter (; née Sutter; born 22 December 1963) is a Swiss politician who has served as President of the Swiss Confederation since 2025 and concurrently as a member of the Federal Council of Switzerland since 2019. Keller-Sutte ...

on 1 January 2019.

Personal life

In 1978, Schneider married Katharina Ammann, a veterinarian, the only daughter of Ulrich Ammann (1921–2006), president and majority shareholder of

, and Katharina Ammann (

Schellenberg). They have two children; * Hans-Christian Schneider (born 1979) * Daniela Schneider (born 1981), married Aeschlimann Schneider-Ammann resides in

, Switzerland.

Other activities

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank and international financial institution that aims to collectively improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. It is the world's second largest multi-lateral d ...

(AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors * Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, MemberMembers
Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee.

Notes and references

External links

* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider-Ammann, Johann 1952 births Agriculture ministers of Switzerland FDP.The Liberals politicians Living people Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the Swiss Confederation People from Emmental District People from Langenthal Swiss Protestants INSEAD alumni ETH Zurich alumni