The University of Fribourg (; ) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

located in

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit

Peter Canisius Peter Canisius (; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit priest known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland and the British Isles. The ...

founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of

. In 1763, an academy of law was founded by the state of Fribourg which formed the nucleus of the present law faculty. The University of Fribourg was finally created in 1889 by an Act of the parliament of the Swiss

Canton of Fribourg The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg, is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French spoken by more than two thirds of the citizens and German by a little more than a quarter. Both are official languages in th ...

. The University of Fribourg is Switzerland's only bilingual university and offers full curricula in both French and German, two of Switzerland's national languages. Students number about 10,000; there are about 200 tenured professors and 700 other academic teaching and research personnel. The Misericorde Campus, constructed between 1939 and 1942, was designed by the architects Honegger and Dumas, students of Swiss architect

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

. There are five

faculties Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholi ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

History

The university owes its earliest origin to the foundation of the Jesuit College St. Michel on Belze Hill by

in 1580 at the invitation of the government of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of Law was founded, housed in the Albertinium (now a Dominican residence). In 1834, the cantonal library was formed from works brought to Fribourg (from Catholic monasteries) for safekeeping. The College St. Michel was closed following the expulsion of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from Fribourg after the canton's defeat in the Sonderbund war. In 1886, Georges Python, founder of the cantonal bank and State Counsellor for Fribourg (M.P. in the upper house of the Swiss parliament) became Director of Public Education. He raised funds through a lottery and was granted some 2,500,000 CHF by the canton. The cantonal library became integrated with that of the university and the academy became the Faculty of Law. In 1939, the university moved to a new campus constructed on the former cemetery of Misericorde, ceding St. Michel to one of Fribourg's gymnasia, which took the name College St. Michel. During the Second World War, the university set up "university camps" along with the

University of Zürich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

, Handels-Hochschule in St. Gallen and a Lycée camp at Wetzikon provided a wide variety of courses to educate Polish prisoners of war. The Perolles campus was constructed on the site of a former wagon factory. Although many lectures were originally in Latin, Fribourg is now the only French/German bilingual university in the world (45% French and 55% German). The town itself is 70% French and 30% German. This fact, coupled with the traditional dominance of French as the language of the city aristocracy explains why French has remained so dominant in university administration and in the AGEF (Association Générale des Etudiants Fribourgois), the Student's Union. To commemorate the centenary of the university, La Poste issued a stamp depicting the figures Science and Sagesse.

Recent developments

In 2005, the university inaugurated its Perolles 2 campus, to which the Faculty of Economics and Social Science relocated. The university has the third largest collection of Biblical antiquities in the world after the British Museum and the Cairo Museum. Fribourg has also developed FriMat, a centre of excellence in nanotechnology. As part of the BeNeFri association comprising the Universities of Berne, Neuchâtel and Fribourg, students at any one of these universities may take courses at another in the association and still receive credit at their home institution. The

academic degrees An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into un ...

were the Demi-Licence, Licence, DEA / DESS,

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

. The university now follows the requirements of the

Bologna process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...

. The University of Fribourg launched for the 2009–2010 academic year a new postgraduate law programme, the

Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice 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. ...

(MLCBP), an

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

taught entirely in English.

Campuses

Fribourg has no central campus and its buildings are located throughout the city. The main sites are: *Misericorde - Humanities and central administration (including the famous Senate room) *Perolles - Science *Perolles 2 - Economics & Social Sciences *Regina Mundi - Psychology *BCU centrale - Main Library ( Cantonal and University Library of Fribourg) *Pierre Aeby - Department of Classical Philology *Bonnesfontaines - Pedagogy * Stade St. Leonard - University Stadium

Faculties

The Fribourg University is divided into five faculties: * The ''Faculty of Humanities'' is the largest faculty with about 4,600 students. They follow courses and seminars in the fields of philosophy, historical sciences, languages, literature, education, psychology or social sciences. * The ''Faculty of Law'' has about 1,900 students. The program includes national and international law; both subjects areas can be followed bilingual. * The ''Faculty of Theology'' is the largest and the most international of Switzerland, and, with Lucerne, it is the only state university in Switzerland to have a Faculty of Catholic Theology. * Approximately 1,400 students are enrolled in one of the four Bachelor programmes and one of the seven Master programmes of the ''Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences''. The faculty is composed of four departments: business management, economics, computer science, media and communication. In addition, the ''international institute of management in technology (iimt)'' and the '' Verbandsmanagement Institute (VMI)'' are attached to the Faculty. * The ''Faculty of Science and Medicine'' was founded in 1896 and comprises seven departments: biology, chemistry, geosciences, computer science, mathematics, medicine and physics. These cover 14 fields: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, geography, computer science, human medicine and dentistry (Bachelor), mathematics, neuroscience, pharmacy, physics, biomedical sciences, environmental sciences, earth sciences (geology) and sport. The Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) is an interdisciplinary research institute of the Faculty of Sciences devoted to fundamental and application-oriented research and teaching in the domain of soft nanomaterials.

Traditions

*Dies Academicus - On this day in November every year, no lectures are held. Festivities begin with Mass in the Chapel of the Collège St. Michel. The members of the university then proceed to the Aula Magna (Great Hall) in solemn procession. After an address by the rector and a prominent guest speaker, honorary degrees are awarded. The student guilds attend in ceremonial dress including swords. *

Corporations A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

- These are similar to the

Studentenverbindung () or , often referred to as , is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousand in ...

en in Germany and Austria, but there is no de facto constraint to participate as it is in the student nations at the universities of

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

and

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. They maintain Central European student traditions and meet at least once a week around a ''Stammtisch'' ("regulars’ table") in order to socialise, drink and sing together. They tend to be organised on linguistic lines. One of them is still engaged in dueling, while the other corporations in Fribourg already rejected this tradition at the time they were founded, amongst others for religious reasons. Membership has often been considered advantageous for those wishing to pursue a career in business, politics or law. Most of Fribourg's student corporations belong to the formerly Catholic '' Schweizerischer Studentenverein''. An example is AV Fryburgia. *The Day of Welcomes (''Jour D’Accueil'') - Similar to Freshers’ Week in anglophone universities. New students are invited to the Aula Magna, where they are welcomed to Fribourg by the Rector and the Syndic (Mayor of the City of Fribourg). This is followed by a meal in the university mensa provided by the city, where new students are expected to dine with the rest of the faculty to which they have been admitted. *Every year, the Catholic Church holds collections during masses throughout Switzerland. Known as Fribourg Sunday, the funds raised are mainly used to award scholarships to foreign priests by the Faculty of Theology.

Branding

The university seal depicts a cross and bishop's ring representing the university's Catholic ethos on a shield of black and white, representing the canton of Fribourg. The logo of the university is a blue stylized "F" (with triangles echoing the facade structure of the Miséricorde Building and symbolizing the Alps) and the name of the university in Latin.

Notable alumni and faculty

Writers and academics

* Patrick Aebischer, former president of the

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (, EPFL) is a public university, public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1969 with the mission to "train talented engineers in Switzerland". Like its sister institution E ...

* Pietro Balestra, Swiss economist specialized in econometrics * Hans Wolfgang Brachinger, German mathematician and econometrician * Mary Daly, feminist theologian and advocate of parthenogenesis * Reiner Eichenberger, Chair of the Center for Public Finance at the University of Fribourg * Lionel Groulx (1878–1967), Québécois priest and historian * Chantal Martin Soelch, Swiss clinical psychologist, academic, and author. *

Vincas Mykolaitis Vincas Mykolaitis, known by his pen name Putinas (literally '' Viburnum''); 6 January 1893 – 7 June 1967), was a Lithuanian writer, poet and translator, accorded the honour of being a People's Writer of the Lithuanian SSR in 1963. He was also ...

, Lithuanian poet and writer *

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (born 10 April 1935, Cork City, Ireland – died 11 November 2013, Jerusalem) was an Irish Dominican priest, a leading authority on St. Paul, and a Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, a posi ...

, Professor of

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at the Ecole Biblique in

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* Hugo Obermaier, prehistorian and anthropologist * Kazys Pakštas, geographer, founder of Lithuanian Geographical Society *

Michel Plancherel Michel Plancherel (; 16 January 1885 – 4 March 1967) was a Swiss people, Swiss mathematician. Biography He was born in Bussy, Fribourg, Bussy (Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland) and obtained his Diplom in mathematics from the University of Fribou ...

, mathematician * Eleanor Purdie (1872–1929), philologist; first woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of Fribourg * Gonzague de Reynold, writer and academic, author of ''Cités et pays suisse'' * Léon Savary, writer and journalist * Csaba Szabo, pharmacologist * Wilhelm Schmidt, Austrian linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist * Winfried Sebald, German writer * Peter Thullen, mathematician *

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, British sociolinguist and dialectologist * Werner Ulrich, Swiss social scientist and practical philosopher, one of the originators of " critical systems thinking" (CST) * Eliseo Verón, sociologist * Luc E. Weber, Rector Emeritus of the

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* Jean Zermatten, academic and Chair of U.N. Commission on the Rights of the Child * Maurice Zermatten, writer, winner of the Schiller International Prize

Clergy

* Gilberto Agustoni, Prefect Emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature * Michael Browne O.P., Master General of the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

Georges Cottier Georges Marie Martin Cottier (; 25 April 1922 – 31 March 2016) was a Swiss Catholic prelate who served as Theologian of the Pontifical Household under Pope John Paul II from 1990 to 2005, after a career as a theologian and teacher. He was a ...

, official theologian to the Papal Household (under John Paul II), Secretary of the International Theological Commission * Clemens August Graf von Galen * Bernard Genoud, Bishop of Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg *

Basil Hume George Basil Hume (born George Haliburton Hume; 2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in 1999. A member of the Benedictines, he was made a cardinal i ...

, former

archbishop of Westminster The archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

* Franciszek Macharski, former

archbishop of Kraków The archbishop of Kraków is the head of the archdiocese of Kraków. A bishop of Kraków first came into existence when the diocese was created in 1000; it was promoted to an archdiocese on 28 October 1925. Due to Kraków's role as Poland's politic ...

Rupert Mayer Rupert Mayer (23 January 1876 – 1 November 1945) was a Germans, German Jesuit Priesthood (Catholic Church), priest and a leading figure of the Catholic German Resistance to Nazism, resistance to Nazism in Munich. In 1987, he was beatified by ...

Blessed, Jesuit critic of the Nationalist Socialist Regime * Peter Hildebrand Meienberg, East African missionary. * Gaspard Mermillod, attended the Jesuit Seminary that was the forerunner of the university; Cardinal Beer takes its name from him * Aloisius Joseph Muench, Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota * Raymond Roussin, former Archbishop of Vancouver *

Christoph Schönborn Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Schönborn, OP (; born 22 January 1945) is a Bohemian-born Austrian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1995 until 2025. He was chairman of the Austrian Bishops' Conferen ...

, Archbishop of

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* Henri Schwery, Bishop of Sion *

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, Patriarch of Venice *Prince Max von Sachsen, Bishop, Prince of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and son of King George of Saxony and Donna Maria Anna, the

Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

of Portugal *Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB * Albert Ziegler SJ, Swiss theologian, ethicist and author * Anton Rohner ON, Swiss clergy, philosopher and professor

Politics

* Elijah Malok Aleng, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan and President of the Bank of Southern Sudan (2005–2011) *

Gerard Batliner Gerard Batliner (9 December 1928 – 25 June 2008) was a lawyer and politician from Liechtenstein who served as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1962 to 1970. He later served in the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1974 to 1982 and as the ...

, former Head of Government (Regierungschef) of Liechtenstein (1962–1970) *

Joseph Bech Joseph Bech (17 February 1887 – 8 March 1975)Thewes, Guy"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché depuis 1848." Service information et presse. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. was a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer. He was the prime minist ...

, Luxembourgish politician and 15th prime minister of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

Corina Casanova Corina Casanova (born 4 January 1956) is a Swiss politician who was the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland between 2008 and 2015. Born in Ilanz, Graubünden, Casanova worked as a lawyer in the practice of the former President of the Swiss Feder ...

Federal Chancellor of Switzerland The federal chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Counc ...

2008–2015 * Enrico Celio,

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 ...

1943, 1948 * Flavio Cotti,

1991, 1998 *

Joseph Deiss Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed the Federal Departmen ...

, Federal Chancellor 1999–2006,

2004,

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2010–11 * Kurt Furgler,

1977, 1981 and 1985 *

Martine Brunschwig Graf Martine Brunschwig Graf (born 16 March 1950 in Fribourg) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss National Council for the Canton of Geneva from 2003 to 2011. Her political party is FDP.The Liberals. Brunschwig Graf was a member of the ...

, Swiss politician, member of the

Swiss National Council The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

* Otmar Hasler, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein 2001–09 * Hans Hürlimann,

1979 *

Arnold Koller Arnold Koller (; born 29 August 1933) is a Swiss professor and politician. He served as a member of the Federal Council from 1987 to 1999 for the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP). Koller previously served as a member of the National ...

1990, 1997 * Giuseppe Lepori, Federal Chancellor and Consigliere del popolo (M.P.) for

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

Richard Thomas McCormack Richard T. McCormack is an American government official and diplomat. He has served nearly five decades advising policymakers on foreign affairs and global economic developments. He is currently a senior advisor for CSIS (Center for Strategic ...

, US Ambassador to the Organization of American States 1985–1989, US Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs 1989–1991 *

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 ...

, Federal Chancellor, Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1999–2003, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation 2003 * Stanisław Mieroszewski, member of the Imperial Council of Austria *

Juli Minoves Juli Minoves i Triquell (; born 15 August 1969) is an Andorran diplomat, author, and the 13th President of Liberal International. Biography Minoves was educated as an economist (University of Fribourg) and Political Scientist (Yale University). ...

, Andorran ambassador, plenipotentiary, and political scientist *

Ignacy Mościcki Ignacy Mościcki (; 1 December 1867 – 2 October 1946) was a Polish chemist and politician who was the country's president from 1926 to 1939. He was the longest serving president in Polish history. Mościcki was the President of Poland when Ge ...

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1926–1939 * Giuseppe Motta, Federal Chancellor (Swiss Cabinet member) 1911–40 (

1915, '20, '27, '32, '37), President of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

1924–25 * Jean-Marie Musy, Federal Chancellor, Member of the Swiss Federal Council *

Albert Pintat Albert Pintat Santolària (; born 23 June 1943) is an Andorran citizen who served as the prime minister of Andorra from 27 May 2005 to 5 June 2009. Pintat graduated from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland in 1967, majoring in economics. ...

, head of the government of

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

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, U.S. political commentator and former chairman of the Democratic Party of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Judith Schmutz, Swiss politician, president of the 2023–2024 *

Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and ...

, Member of 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 ...

2010–present,

2015 * Ludwig von Moos,

1964, 1969 *

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

, first

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...

Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello (; 15 March 1948 – 19 August 2003) was a Brazilian United Nations diplomat who worked on several UN humanitarian and political programs for over 34 years. The Government of Brazil posthumously awarded the Sergio Vieira ...

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univer ...

2002-2003 and UN Special Representative for Iraq 2003

Business and economics

* Jean-Marie Ayer co-founder of Dartfish, chairman and CEO 1999–2003 *Albert M. Baehny, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Geberit Group since January 1, 2005 *Heinrich Burk, former CEO of

ACNielsen NIQ (also known as NielsenIQ, formerly known as ACNielsen or AC Nielsen) is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The company has approximately 30,000 employees and operates in more ...

Urs Felber Urs Felber (born 10 July 1942), a pioneer of furniture design, was the CEO of Vitra (furniture), Vitra USA. Felber was also the board director for several companies including Swissflex and was chairman and principal shareholder for the furniture ...

, Swiss industrialist, philanthropist and design pioneer * Stephan Klapproth, Swiss journalist and television presenter *Adolphe Merkle,Adolphe Merkle
/ref> founder of Vibro-Meter International AG, Adolphe Merkle Foundation * Marc Moret, former chairman of

Sandoz Sandoz Group AG is a Swiss company that focuses on generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Prior to October 2023, it was part of a division of Novartis that was established in 2003, when Novartis united all of its generics businesses under the ...

, uncle of Daniel Vasella's wife * Klaus Martin Schwab, German economist, the founder and executive chairman of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

* Arthur Dunkel (1932–2005), Swiss (Portuguese-born) administrator and a professor at the University of Fribourg; director-general of

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

, 1980–1993

Sports

René Fasel René Fasel (born 6 February 1950) is a Swiss-Russian retired ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1994 to 2021. He started his ice hockey career as a player for HC Fribourg-Gott ...

, president of the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...

, current

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

president

Architecture

Mario Botta Mario Botta is a Swiss architect born in Mendrisio, Ticino on 1 April 1943. At age fifteen, Botta dropped out of secondary school and apprenticed with the architectural firm of Carloni and Camenisch in Lugano. After three years, he went to the Ar ...

, founder of the Academy of Architecture at Mendrisio (Honoris Causa)

Judiciary

* Giusep Nay, president of the

Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ( ; ; ; ; sometimes the Swiss Federal Tribunal) is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation and the head of the Swiss judiciary. The Federal Supreme Court is headquartered in the Federal Courth ...

2005–2006, 1988–2006 * Alois Pfister, member of the

* Antonin Gregory Scalia, U.S. Justice * Luzius Wildhaber, Swiss judge; first president of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

Media

*Andrea Jansen, journalist, Swiss National Television

Arts

*Three of the members of the medieval ensemble Freiburger Spielleyt are graduates of the university's early music program.

Royalty

* Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern, head of the Swabian

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

Military

* Daniel Anrig, 34th Commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guard

Gallery

Image:Aula_Magna_(Great_Hall).jpg, Aula Magna (Great Hall) Image:University of Fribourg CEntral Library, CH.jpg, BCU, University of Fribourg Image:Pavillion_of_Musicology.jpg, Pavilion of Musicology

Notes and references

External links

* * * Se
Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice
the University of Fribourg's new LL.M Programme {{DEFAULTSORT:Fribourg, University Of Universities and colleges established in 1889 Public universities Buildings and structures in the canton of Fribourg

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 ...

1889 establishments in Switzerland