Ruth Humbel (born 23 July 1957) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

politician ( CVP) and a member of the Federal Assembly. She is also an

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a ...

competitor Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

at international level. She won bronze medals in the ''relay'' at the

World Orienteering Championships The World Orienteering Championships (or WOC for short) is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2 ...

in 1978, 1981 and 1985. She placed fourth in the ''individual'' event at the 1981 World Championships, and fifth in the ''relay'' in 1979.

Personal life

Humbel lives in the municipality of Birmenstorf in the canton

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...

in Switzerland. She is married to historian Beat Näf, and has two children, born in 1991 and 1994.

Sports career

Humbel was five times individual Swiss Champion in

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a ...

. She was part of the

national team from 1975 to 1987, and competed in seven

. At the

1976 World Orienteering Championships The 1976 World Orienteering Championships, the 6th World Orienteering Championships, were held in Aviemore, Scotland, 24–26 September 1976. The championships had four events; individual contests for men and women, and relays for men and wome ...

Aviemore Aviemore (; gd, An Aghaidh Mhòr ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is pop ...

she placed 19th in the classic distance. The 1978 World Championships were held in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud, Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. K ...

, Norway. Humbel started both in the individual competition, where she placed 13th, and in the relay. The Swiss team earned a bronze medal, behind Finland and Sweden, in a close finish two seconds ahead of the Norway team. Also on the Swiss team were

Ruth Baumberger Ruth Baumberger is a Swiss orienteering competitor. She competed at the 1974 World Orienteering Championships in Viborg, where she placed 11th in the individual contest, and fourth in the relay with the Swiss team. She participated on the Swiss ...

and

Hanni Fries Hanni Fries is a Swiss orienteering competitor who won a bronze medal in the ''relay'' at the World Orienteering Championships in Kongsberg in 1978, together with Ruth Baumberger and Ruth Humbel Ruth Humbel (born 23 July 1957) is a Swiss pol ...

. In Tampere in 1979 she placed 25th in the individual competition, and fifth with the Swiss team, which consisted of Annelies Meier, Humbel and Fries. In 1981 the World Championships were held in

Thun Thun (french: Thoune) is a town and a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located where the Aare flows out of Lake Thun (Thunersee), southeast of Bern. the municipality has almost ...

, in her home country. Humbel achieved her best individual result, placing fourth. In the relay Switzerland won the bronze medal, behind Sweden and Finland. On the Swiss team were Ruth Schmid, Annelies Meier Irene Bucher and Humbel. In

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; hr, Jegersek; sl, Jageršek; german: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and west-southw ...

in 1983 she placed 31st in the individual course, and fifth in the relay. In

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, mak ...

in 1985 she placed 28th in the individual course, and the Swiss team won a bronze medal in the relay. Her last appearance at the World Orienteering Championships was in Gerardmer in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

. She placed 18th in the individual competition, and sixth in the relay.

Political career

Humbel was a member (german: Grossrätin) of the Aargau Parliament (german: Kantonsparlament) from 1981 to 2003. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

she was elected to the

National Council of Switzerland The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, th ...

, and reelected in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. She represents the canton Aargau, and the

Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (german: Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz, CVP), also called the Christian Democratic Party (french: Parti démocrate-chrétien, PDC), Democratic People's Party ( it, Partito P ...

. In the parliament she is a member of the ''Health Commission'' (german: Kommission für soziale Sicherheit und Gesundheit NR) and the ', and a former member of the Commission of Justice (german: Gerichtskommission).

References

External links

Ruth Humbel
on the website of the

Federal Assembly of Switzerland The Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung, french: Assemblée fédérale, it, Assemblea federale, rm, Assamblea federala), also known as the Swiss parliament (''Parlament'', ''Parlement'', ''Parlamento''), is Switzerland's federal leg ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Humbel, Ruth Swiss orienteers Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 1957 births Living people Female orienteers Foot orienteers Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) World Orienteering Championships medalists 20th-century Swiss women politicians 20th-century Swiss politicians 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians