Simone de Montmollin (née Götz; born 20 July 1968) is a Swiss politician, businesswoman, and oenologist. She began her career in the medical field, working for the
European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is an independent non-profit, non-governmental professional association that works to advance the prevention, diagnosis and management of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, and improve scientific un ...
before founding her own medical communications company, Götz & Cie Cardio Diffusion, in 1991. De Montmollin left the medical field to become an
oenologist
Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
, and served as the director of the Swiss Union of Oenologists, worked as a communications specialist at
Agroscope
Agroscope is the Swiss Confederation's center of excellence for agricultural research and is affiliated with the Federal Office for Agriculture, which is subordinate to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. Agrosco ...
, and served as chairwoman for the 42nd World Congress of Vine and Wine in Geneva. In 2008 she was elected, as an Independent, to the Geneva Constituent Assembly. She later joined
FDP.The Liberals
french: PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux it, PLR.I Liberali Radicali rm, PLD.Ils Liberals
, logo =
, caption = Logo of the party in French, German, and Italian
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Thierry Burkart ...
and was elected to the
Grand Council of Geneva
The Grand Council of Geneva (french: Grand Conseil de Genève) is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council was established in its prese ...
, serving from 2013 to 2018. In her last year on the council, she was the president of the Committee for Environment, Agriculture, and Management. In 2019, de Montmollin was elected to the
National Council, where she is a member of the Committee for Science, Education and Culture and the Delegation for Relations with the
French Parliament
The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: ...
.
Early life and family
De Montmollin was born Simone Götz in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...
on 20 July 1968.
Her father was from
Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''.
Geography
Location
T ...
in Germany and moved to Switzerland in the 1950s.
De Montmollin's grandfather, a German soldier, was killed on the Eastern Front during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.[ Her mother, who is Swiss, is from ]Sigriswil
Sigriswil is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Sigriswil is first mentioned in 1222-23 as ''Sigriswile''.
Archeological remains dating from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age ...
.[ She is the youngest of four children and grew up in Mies.][ Her father died when she was twelve.][
]
Career
Medical field and oenology
De Montmollin started an apprenticeship at a pharmacy when she was 16 years old.[ She studied business management and management in the medical field in Lausanne.][ Upon completing her studies, she lived in England before finding employment with the ]European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is an independent non-profit, non-governmental professional association that works to advance the prevention, diagnosis and management of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, and improve scientific un ...
.[ In 1991, she founded a medical communication company called Götz & Cie Cardio Diffusion, which she managed until 1996. In 2001, she graduated with an ]oenology
Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
degree from the École d'ingénieurs de Changins.[ In 2003, she was appointed as chief of the editorial staff at ''Objectif'', the Changins Alumni Journal.][ From 2003 to 2019, de Montmollin was the director of the Swiss Union of Oenologists and worked as a communications specialist at ]Agroscope
Agroscope is the Swiss Confederation's center of excellence for agricultural research and is affiliated with the Federal Office for Agriculture, which is subordinate to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. Agrosco ...
from 2014 to 2017.[ In 2019, she was the chairwoman of the organizing committee for the 42nd World Congress of Vine and Wine in Geneva. As a freelance oenologist, de Montmollin works with private and public Swiss and international organizations on viniculture projects.][
]
Politics
In 2008, de Montmollin was elected as an Independent to the Geneva Constituent Assembly, where she worked on introducing a constitutional article on agriculture.
In 2013, she was elected as, a member of FDP.The Liberals
french: PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux it, PLR.I Liberali Radicali rm, PLD.Ils Liberals
, logo =
, caption = Logo of the party in French, German, and Italian
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Thierry Burkart ...
,[ to the ]Grand Council of Geneva
The Grand Council of Geneva (french: Grand Conseil de Genève) is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council was established in its prese ...
.[ She was a committee member for Environment, Agriculture, and Management, serving as the committee's president from 2017 to 2018.][ She also was a member of the Social Commission.][ De Montmollin was re-elected to the council again in 2018 with 21,682 votes.
In 2019, de Montmollin was elected, receiving 32,402 votes, to the National Council. She was elected alongside ]Christian Lüscher
Christian Lüscher (born 6 December 1963) is a Swiss attorney and politician of FDP.The Liberals (Parti liberal suisse), representing the Canton of Geneva in the National Council. He stood for election to the Swiss Federal Council on 16 Septemb ...
. She is a member of the Committee for Science, Education and Culture and of the delegation for the relations with the French Parliament
The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: ...
.[ She supported the abolition of the stamp duty tax, which is required by Swiss companies when they issue shares or bonds to increase equity.
]
Personal life
She is married to Alexandre de Montmollin, an oenologist, and has two daughters.[ Her husband's family is part of the ]Swiss nobility
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a collection of semi-autonomous cantons. As membership of the confederation has fluctuated throughout history, each of these cantons has its own unique history and nobility. Typically, each can ...
originally from Auvernier
Auvernier is a village in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The municipalities of Auvernier, Bôle and Colombier merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Milvignes.[Canton of Neuchâtel
The Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel (french: République et Canton de Neuchâtel); rm, Chantun Neuchâtel; it, Cantone di Neuchâtel is a French-speaking canton in western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782, of whom 39,654 (o ...]
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montmollin, Simone de
1968 births
Living people
21st-century Swiss women politicians
21st-century Swiss politicians
Canton of Geneva politicians
FDP.The Liberals politicians
Simone
Simone may refer to:
* Simone (given name), a feminine (or Italian masculine) given name of Hebrew origin
* Simone (surname), an Italian surname
Simone may also refer to:
* ''Simone'' (1918 film), a French silent drama film
* ''Simone'' (1926 fi ...
Nobility of Neuchâtel
Oenologists
People from Lausanne
Swiss nobility
Swiss people of German descent
Swiss winemakers
Swiss women company founders
Women members of the National Council (Switzerland)