André Simonazzi (born 1968) is a Swiss journalist born in

Monthey Monthey (; frp, Montê) is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mention ...

. He currently holds the office of Vice Chancellor and spokesman for the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...

, since April 2009. Simonazzi attended th
Collège de l’Abbaye
in St. Maurice, where he obtained a Latin and English baccalaureate in 1988. The eldest son of an economics teacher at the

St. Maurice's Abbey The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a c ...

, André Simonazzi graduated at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. After beginning a career as a journalist at the regional newspaper Le Nouvelliste, André Simonazzi first joined the relief organization Caritas Switzerland's media department, before becoming its national spokesman in 1998. In 2004, he joined the

Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications The Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation, french: Département fédéral de l'environnement, des transports, de l'én ...

(DETEC), initially as Deputy Head of the Information Service, then as Head between 2004 and 2009. André Simonazzi was appointed Spokesman for the Federal Council on 12 November 2008 with effect from 1 April 2009.

Personal life

Simonazzi is of Italian descent.

References

Living people 1968 births Swiss politicians Swiss people of Italian descent People from Monthey Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni {{Switzerland-journalist-stub