Andri Sebastian Silberschmidt also Silberschmidt-Buhofer (; born 26 February 1994) is a Swiss businessman, politician and former banker. He currently serves as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for The Liberals since 2019.

Early life and education

Silberschmidt was born on 26 February 1994 in Zürich, Switzerland to Georg and Katharina Silberschmidt (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Wimmer). His father was a gymnastics teacher at the Gossau public schools. His mother is an interior designer. His paternal family was partially of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, his ancestor Moise Silberschmidt, immigrated to

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

around 1870 and ultimately became a citizen there (

place of origin In Switzerland, the place of origin (german: Heimatort or Bürgerort, literally "home place" or "citizen place"; french: Lieu d'origine; it, Luogo d'origine) denotes where a Swiss citizen has their municipal citizenship, usually inherited from prev ...

) in 1875. The second generation were active in several industries, such as investments in the textile industry, and became citizens of

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

in 1938. On his maternal side he is of Hungarian descent. While his paternal ancestors were

, Silberschmidt declared to be

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. He dropped out of high school in grade 9. Silberschmidt ultimately completed a commercial apprenticeship in banking including professional maturity at

Zurich Cantonal Bank Zurich Cantonal Bank (german: Zürcher Kantonalbank, or ZKB) is the largest cantonal bank and fourth largest bank in Switzerland, as well as the leading financial services provider in the Greater Zurich area, with total assets of over CHF 150 bi ...

between 2009 and 2012. Between 2013 and 2017, Silberschmidt completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration majoring in Banking and Finance at the Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW) with an exchange at Cass Business School in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in Global Finance from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass Business School).

Professional career

After completing his commercial apprenticeship he worked for, a subsidiary of

, offering financial services and fund services. He specifically managed

quantitative fund A quantitative fund is an investment fund that uses Quantitative analysis (finance), quantitative investment management instead of fundamental human analysis. Investment process :''See for a listing of relevant articles.'' An Investment, investme ...

s for the

third world The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

. In 2020, he became the corporate secretary of Planzer Holding Ltd., a major logistics and transportation company, where he formerly was project manager of the CFO office, and assistant to the executive board and board of directors. Concurrently, Silberschmidt is the controlling shareholder and chairman of Silberschmidt Ltd., which is his own holding company for a variety of business interests. He currently also serves as a strategic advisor for the Marcuard Family Office and president of FH Switzerland. He is currently a board member of Jucker Farm AG as well as Kaisin AG, a poké bole operation with several locations in Swiss cities, which he co-founded in 2017. He is a member of the board of trustees of Stiftung Wohnungen für kinderreiche Familien ( en. Foundation Apartments for large families) and the Fritz-Gerber-Stiftung für begabte junge Menschen (

en. En or EN may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * E ...

Fritz-Gerber-Foundation for gifted young people).

Politics

In 2011, Silberschmidt joined the

Young Liberals (Switzerland) The Young Liberals of Switzerland (german: Jungfreisinnige Schweiz, french: Jeunes Libéraux-Radicaux Suisse, it, Giovani Liberali Radicali Svizzera, rm, Giuvens Liberals Svizra), abbreviated to YLS (german: JF), is the youth wing of FDP.The Lib ...

, aged 17. Shortly after joining, he founded the ''Young Liberals of the Hinwil District'' group, of which he became the chairman. In 2013, he took over the presidency of the ''Young Liberals of the Canton of Zurich''. From March 2016 to November 2019, Silberschmidt presided over the Young Liberals of Switzerland, with whom he launched the so-called ''Pension Initiative''. His successor in this position was Matthias Müller. Between 2018 and 2020, Silberschmidt was elected to serve in the Zurich municipal council, where he represented districts 7 and 8. In the

2019 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 20 October 2019 to elect all members of both houses of the Federal Assembly. This was followed by the 2019 election to the Swiss Federal Council, the federal executive, by the United Federal Assemb ...

, Silberschmidt was elected to the National Council (Switzerland) for The Liberals, defeating incumbent Hans-Ulrich Bigler. He was 25 years old which makes him the youngest elected member of the National Council in the 51st legislative period. At The Liberals delegates' meeting on 2 October 2021 he was elected to the vice presidency of The Liberals Switzerland together with Johanna Gapany. From January to February 2019, he was a participant in the highly selective International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, which took place in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

and Orlando.

Personal life

Silberschmidt married his long-term partner, Andrea Buhofer (b. 1994), on Thursday, 2 November 2023, on Lake Zug. They reside in Enge (Zürich). He is a

dual-citizen Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberschmidt, Andri 1994 births Living people Politicians from Zürich Businesspeople from Zürich