Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who served as 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 ...

from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first 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 ...

(1999–2002) before transferring to the

Federal Department of Economic Affairs The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER, ; ; ) is one of the seven departments of the federal government of Switzerland, headed by a Member of the Swiss Federal Council. The department was renamed from Federal ...

(2003–2006). Deiss was elected

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

for its 65th session in 2010.

Political career

Legislative and local experience

Joseph Deiss started his political career in 1981 as a representative of his party in the Grand Council of Fribourg. In 1991 he became the president of the cantonal parliament for one year. Between 1982 and 1996 Deiss assumed the mayorship of his home village Barberêche. In 1991 he was elected to the National Council. From 1995 to 1996 Deiss was vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council. In 1996 he was made president of the committee in charge of the total revision of the

Swiss Federal Constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; (BV); (Cst.); (Cost.); ) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of ...

In the Federal Council

Deiss 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 ...

on 11 March 1999, along with his erstwhile colleague

Ruth Metzler Ruth Metzler (born Arnold, 23 May 1964) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she headed the Federal Department of Justice and ...

. Together with Adalbert Durrer and Remigio Ratti, he was one of three official candidates proposed by the CVP/PDC for the seat of retiring Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti. However, the election became a narrow contest between Deiss and Peter Hess, who was favoured by many conservative representatives. Deiss eventually won after the sixth ballot, by 120 to 119 votes. In office, he has headed the following departments: *

(1999–2002) *

(2003-2006) After the failure of

to be re-elected in 2003, Metzler challenged him for his seat, but lost by 138 votes to 96. He was subsequently elected President of the Confederation for 2004, one year earlier than would have been regular. He became the only remaining representative of the CVP in the Council. On 27 April 2006 Deiss rather unexpectedly resigned as Federal Councillor.Bundesrat Deiss tritt zurück
NZZ Online, April 27, 2006. The CVP's seat not being contested by the other parties, he was succeeded by the president of the CVP, Doris Leuthard, who took over from Deiss on 1 August 2006.

Professional career

Joseph Deiss studied economics and social sciences for his first degree at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

. He continued to complete a doctorate at the same university after which he spent some time doing research at King's College at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. After this period of research Joseph Deiss took on the post of lecturing Economics at the University of Fribourg. In 1983 he was made visiting professor at a number of Swiss universities:

ETH Zurich 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 ran ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. From 1993 to 1996 Joseph Deiss acted as National Price Supervisor. He then returned to the University of Fribourg to become the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. At this time at university, Joseph Deiss was also the chairman of the Board of Directors at ''Schumacher AG'' in Schmitten (FR) and chairman of the Raiffeisenbank in Haut-Lac, Courtepin (FR). In 2009 Joseph Deiss was awarded an honorary degree

Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from

Business School Lausanne Business School Lausanne (BSL) is a private business school located in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is part of the Lemania Group of Swiss Private Schools. History BSL was founded in 1987 by Dr. John Hobbs. The current President is Philippe Du Pas ...

in recognition of his achievements to reinforce and expand the political and economic position of Switzerland.

Personal life

Deiss is married and has three sons. Joseph Deiss is an Honorary Member o
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Joseph Deiss is an Honorary Member o
AFIS Swiss International Civil Servants Association

Works

*''Manuel d'économie politique'', with Danielle Meuwly, 1st edition 1994, reedited. *''Initiation à l'économie politique : analyse économique de la Suisse'', 1st edition 1982, reedited. *''Economie politique et politique économique de la Suisse'', 1st edition 1979, reedited. *''The regional adjustment process and regional monetary policy'', 1978. *''La théorie pure des termes de l'échange international'', doctorate thesis, 1971.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deiss, Joseph 1946 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Academic staff of the University of Fribourg Academic staff of the University of Geneva Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Foreign ministers of Switzerland Mayors of places in Switzerland Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the Swiss Confederation People from Fribourg Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Swiss economists Swiss Roman Catholics University of Fribourg alumni Agriculture ministers of Switzerland