Mario Fehr

Mario Fehr (born 13 September 1958) is a Swiss politician. He has been Head of the Department of Security since 2011, and was President of the Government Council in 2016/2017. He is known according to ''Le Temps'' for his outspokenness and independent thinking."State Councilor Mario Fehr slams the door on the Zurich Socialist Party,"
''Le Temps'', 18 June 2023.

Early life and education

In 1984 Fehr graduated from the University of Zurich with a degree in law, and from 1984–85 he was an assistant at the university's Faculty of Law. From 1985–86 he was an intern at the district court in Zurich, and from 1986–88 he was an intern at the Office of the Juvenile Prosecutor in Horgen. From 1989–94 he held a position at the Uitikon correctional facility for juvenile delinquents.

In 1994 he graduated from the University of Zurich as a teacher for general subjects in vocational schools. From 1992–2008 Fehr was a teacher at the Zurich Vocational School for Technical Professions. From 2006–11 he was the President of the Swiss Commercial Association.

Political career

In 1986–94 he was Member of the Adliswil Municipal Parliament. From 1991–2000, as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP), he served in the Cantonal Council of Zürich. From 1994–2010 he was a Member of the Adliswil City Council, from 2000–05 he was a member of the Constitutional Council, and from 1999–2011 he was a Member of the Swiss National Council, and a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Science, Education, and Culture Committee.

In 2011 he was first elected to the seven-member Executive Council of Zürich, where he led the ministry of security. He was re-elected in 2015 (second-highest share of votes) and 2019 (highest share of votes). He left the Social Democratic Party in 2021, over disputes with the cantonal SP leadership and has since continued to serve as an independent. He was re-elected again in 2023 (with the highest shares of votes).

Ali Abunimah, director of the ''Electronic Intifada'', was arrested in Zurich in January 2025 and deported after an entry ban on his travel to Zurich was imposed on him by the Federal Office of Police ( Fedpol) at the request of the Zurich police because, according to Fehr, Abunimah posed a threat to Switzerland's internal and external security."“We don’t want this Jew-hater in Switzerland”,"
20min, 26 January 2025. Abunimah had made a number of controversial statements in the past, claiming for example that there was "no credible evidence" of rape by Hamas terrorists during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, accusing Israel of deliberately killing its own citizens that day, and describing Iranian missile attacks on Israel as "an act in the name of humanity." Fehr described Abunimah as a "Islamist Jew-hater who calls for violence in Switzerland".

Personal life

He is a lawyer by profession, was born in Zurich, lives in Adliswil, and has lived in Küsnacht."About Mario Fehr,"
zh.ch."Mario Fehr,"
europarl.europa.eu.

See also

*List of members of the National Council of Switzerland, 2003–2007
*List of members of the National Council of Switzerland, 2007–2011

References

External links

*
Instagram page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fehr, Mario
1958 births
Living people
Independent politicians in Switzerland
Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1999–2003
Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2007–2011
Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2003–2007
People from Adliswil
People from Küsnacht
Politicians from Zurich
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians
Swiss schoolteachers
University of Zurich alumni
20th-century Swiss lawyers
21st-century Swiss lawyers