Didier Burkhalter

Didier Burkhalter
Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2012
Preceded by	Micheline Calmy-Rey
President of Switzerland
In office 1 January 2014 – 31 December 2014
Vice President	Simonetta Sommaruga
Preceded by	Ueli Maurer
Succeeded by	Simonetta Sommaruga
Vice President of Switzerland
In office 1 January 2013 – 31 December 2013
President	Ueli Maurer
Preceded by	Ueli Maurer
Succeeded by	Simonetta Sommaruga
Head of the Department of Home Affairs
In office 1 November 2009 – 31 December 2011
Preceded by	Pascal Couchepin
Succeeded by	Alain Berset
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 November 2009
Preceded by	Pascal Couchepin
Personal details
Born	17 April 1960 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Political party	FDP.The Liberals
Spouse(s)	Friedrun Sabine Burkhalter
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Neuchâtel

Didier Burkhalter (born 17 April 1960 in Neuchâtel) is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals. He was elected as member of the Swiss Federal Council on 16 September 2009, and succeeded Pascal Couchepin on 1 November 2009 when he became head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (the Swiss interior minister). Since 1 January 2012, he is head of the Department of Foreign Affairs.^[1] In the year 2014 he was President of the Swiss Confederation.

Biography

A native of the Canton of Neuchâtel, Burkhalter was member of the parliament of the Canton of Neuchâtel from 1990 to 2001. At the same time (from 1991 to 2005), he was a member of Neuchâtel's city government (Conseil communal) and its mayor several times (1994/1995, 1998/1998, 2001/2002). From 2003 to 2007, Burkhalter was a member of the Swiss National Council. He has a degree in economics. Burkhalter is married to a native Austrian and father of three children.^[2]

On 11 November 2007, he was elected to the Council of States, along with Social Democratic Party (SP) candidate Gisèle Ory, who was re-elected for a second term. Pierre Bonhôte, the other social democratic incumbent, was not re-elected. During the election campaign, Burkhalter was backed by the Liberal Party (PLS) and the SVP/UDC, though the SVP/UDC scarcely endorsed him publicly.

On 4 December 2013, Burkhalter was elected as President of the Swiss Confederation for the 2014 term by taking 183 of the available 222 votes of the Federal Assembly.^[3][4]

On January 1, 2014 Burkhalter assumed the office as President of the Swiss Confederation. As President of the Confederation, Burkhalter presides over meetings of the Federal Council and carries 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). He is also the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence, and has the power to act on behalf of the whole Council in emergency situations. However, in most cases, the president is merely primus inter pares, with no powers over and above his six colleagues.

References

1. "Burkhalter wird Aussen-, Berset Innenminister". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
2. Didier Burkhalter - Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, at Federal Administration admin.ch (in English). Retrieved 20-01-2014
3. Burkhalter: «Ich werde andere Krawatten tragen als Maurer», article on the website of Swiss Radio & Television srf.ch from December 4, 2013 (in German). Retrieved 20-01-2014
4. Ungewohntes Rampenlicht für den Aussenminister, article in the Tagesanzeiger from December 25, 2013 (in German). Retrieved 20-01-2014

External links

• Swiss Federal Councillor Election Details (English)
• Presidential year 2014 (English)
• Swiss OSCE Chairmanship 2014 (English)
• Curriculum Vitae of Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter (English)
• FDFA Hompepage (English)
• Media related to Didier Burkhalter at Wikimedia Commons