Doris Leuthard

Doris Leuthard
President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 2017 – 31 December 2017
Vice President Alain Berset
Preceded by Johann Schneider-Ammann
Succeeded by Alain Berset
In office
1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010
Vice President Moritz Leuenberger
Micheline Calmy-Rey
Preceded by Hans-Rudolf Merz
Succeeded by Micheline Calmy-Rey
Vice President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 2016 – 1 January 2017
President Johann Schneider-Ammann
Preceded by Johann Schneider-Ammann
Succeeded by Alain Berset
In office
1 January 2009 – 31 December 2009
President Hans-Rudolf Merz
Preceded by Hans-Rudolf Merz
Succeeded by Moritz Leuenberger
Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
Assumed office
1 November 2010
Preceded by Moritz Leuenberger
Minister of Economic Affairs
In office
1 August 2006 – 31 October 2010
Preceded by Joseph Deiss
Succeeded by Johann Schneider-Ammann
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
Assumed office
1 August 2006
Preceded by Joseph Deiss
Personal details
Born (1963-04-10) 10 April 1963
Merenschwand, Switzerland
Political party Christian Democratic People's Party
Spouse(s) Roland Hausin
Alma mater University of Zurich

Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer. Since 1 August 2006, she has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council, and was elected as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2010 and 2017.[1][2]

Biography

From 1 August 2006 until 31 October 2010 she was head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (the Swiss commerce minister). Since 1 November 2010 she is head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. She was elected President of the Confederation for 2010,[1] and on 7 December 2016 for 2017.[3][4]

Leuthard was a member of the Swiss National Council from 1999 to 2006 and President of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC) (2004–2006). She represented Aargau.[4]

Following the resignation of Joseph Deiss from the Swiss Federal Council, Leuthard was elected as his successor on 14 June 2006. She received 133 out of 234 valid votes, and became the 109th member (and fifth woman) of the Federal Council. Her election represented a departure from a long precedent of replacing a member of the Federal Council with someone from the same language group. While Deiss was a French speaker, Leuthard is a German speaker.

For the calendar year 2009, Leuthard was elected Vice President of the Swiss Confederation, virtually assuring her election as president for the calendar year 2010. Due to a large amount of turnover on the Council in recent years, she was the longest-serving councilor not to have served as president. She was the third woman to hold the post, after Ruth Dreifuss (1999) and Micheline Calmy-Rey (2007).[5]

As President of the Confederation, Leuthard presided over meetings of the Federal Council and carried out representative functions that would normally be handled by a head of state in other democracies (though in Switzerland, the Federal Council as a whole is regarded as the head of state). She was also the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence, and had the power to act on behalf of the whole Council in emergency situations. However, in most cases, Leuthard was merely primus inter pares, with no power above and beyond her six colleagues. She was succeeded by Calmy-Rey in 2011, the first time two women had held the office in succession.

Following a reshuffle of portfolios after the by-election of two new councilors in 2010, Leuthard replaced outgoing Moritz Leuenberger at the head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications.[6] In her capacity as minister, she was appointed by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in 2018 to the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, co-chaired by Melinda Gates and Jack Ma.[7]

The project SAFFA 2020 is under the patronage of the three federal councillors (Bundesrat) Doris Leuthard, Simonetta Sommaruga and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as well as by the former councillor (aBR) Micheline Calmy-Rey.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Doris Leuthard neue Bundespräsidentin". Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  2. ↑ "Doris Leuthard ist der Politik nicht müde". SRF Tagesschau. 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  3. ↑ "Doris Leuthards beachtlicher Weg". 10vor10. 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  4. 1 2 "Leuthard Elected Swiss President for 2017". Swissinfo. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Skard, Torild (2014) "Ruth Dreifuss, Micheline Calmy-Rey and Doris Leuthard" in Women of power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide, Bristol: Policy Press ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0, pp. 404-7
  6. ↑ "Leuthard au DETEC, Widmer-Schlumpf aux finances". TSR Télévision Suisse Romande. SRG SSR. 27 September 2010. Archived from the original on 30 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  7. ↑ Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation United Nations, press release of July 12, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Patronat" (in German). 2020.ch. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
Political offices
Preceded by
Joseph Deiss		 Member of the Swiss Federal Council
2006–present		 Incumbent
Minister of Economic Affairs
2006–2010		 Succeeded by
Johann Schneider-Ammann
Preceded by
Hans-Rudolf Merz		 Vice President of Switzerland
2009		 Succeeded by
Moritz Leuenberger
President of Switzerland
2010		 Succeeded by
Micheline Calmy-Rey
Preceded by
Moritz Leuenberger		 Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
2010–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Johann Schneider-Ammann		 Vice President of Switzerland
2016		 Succeeded by
Alain Berset
President of Switzerland
2017
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