Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss 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 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was

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 ...

in 2015 and 2020. A former director of the Consumer Protection Foundation, which merged into the Swiss Alliance of Consumer Organisations in 2010, Sommaruga has headed the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications since 2019, previously heading the

Federal Department of Justice and Police The Federal Department of Justice and Police (, , , ) is one of the seven Ministry (government department), departments of the Switzerland, Swiss federal government, and is equivalent to a ministry of justice in other countries. As of 2024, it ...

(2010–2018). She served as Vice President of Switzerland for 2014 and 2019. Sommaruga assumed the role of

in 2015, before returning to the position in 2020. She resides in 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 ...

Biography

Early life

Sommaruga was born 14 May 1960 in Zug, Switzerland, a daughter of Marco and Marie-Therese (née Keel) Sommaruga. She is a maternal great-great-granddaughter of Johann Joseph Keel, who served as National Councilor as well as Governing Councilor. Sommaruga grew up with two brothers and a sister in

Sins In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considere ...

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

. She attended the gymnasium at Immensee, Schwyz and trained as a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

at the Lucerne School of Music of Lucerne University. From 1988 to 1991, she attended English and Romance studies at the University of Fribourg, but did not graduate.

Professional career

Sommaruga held the directorship of the Consumer Protection Foundation (German: Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz) from 1993 to 1999, which earned her public recognition in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, where it was active. She held the presidency of that foundation from 2000 to 2010, as well as that of the aid organisation Swissaid from 2003 to 2008. She was also patron of ''SAFFA 2020'', alongside then-Federal Councillors Doris Leuthard and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, as well as former Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey.

Political career

Sommaruga's political career began as a member of the Grand Council of Bern from 1981 to 1990. She served in the municipal government of Köniz from 1997 to 2005. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, she was elected 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 ...

she became a member of the Federal Assembly's upper house, the Council of States, representing the

. On 11 August 2010, she announced her candidacy to succeed fellow party member Moritz Leuenberger, who had announced his resignation, in the upcoming election to the Federal Council. Sommaruga was elected by the Federal Assembly on 22 September 2010. She was eventually elected for a full four-year term in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, before successfully seeking reelection in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. On 4 December 2013, Sommaruga was elected as Vice President of Switzerland by the Federal Assembly for 2014, alongside Didier Burkhalter, who was elected

. On 3 December 2014, she was elected to the presidency for 2015, alongside Johann Schneider-Ammann as Vice President of Switzerland. Her first international presidential trip was to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she joined the Republican marches of 11 January 2015, organised to defend freedom of speech following the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. She served as President of the Confederation until 31 December 2015, when Schneider-Ammann succeeded her. On 1 January 2019, she returned to the vice presidency under President

Ueli Maurer Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer (; born 1 December 1950) is a Swiss politician who served as a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2022. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was Pres ...

. Sommaruga became President of the Swiss Confederation again in 2020, a year marked by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. She opened the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

during the opening ceremony. She was succeeded by Guy Parmelin on 1 January 2021. On 2 November 2022, she announced her upcoming resignation from the Federal Council. She stated the decision had come abruptly following a stroke suffered by her husband.

Personal life

Sommaruga, who is married to writer Lukas Hartmann, lives in Spiegel near

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. She is a distant relative of Cornelio Sommaruga and fellow politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland Carlo Sommaruga.

Publications

* ''Für eine moderne Schweiz. Ein praktischer Reformplan'', with Rudolf Strahm, Nagel & Kimche, Munich, 2005, * , 10 May 2001

References

External links

* *
Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sommaruga, Simonetta 1960 births 20th-century Swiss people 21st-century Swiss women politicians Female heads of state Living people Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the Swiss Confederation Ministers of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Switzerland Justice ministers of Switzerland People from Zug Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians University of Fribourg alumni Women members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Women members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Female justice ministers 21st-century women presidents Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2011–2015 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2019–2023