Elmar Theodor Mäder (born 28 July 1963) was the thirty-third Commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guards. He held the rank of colonel in the Guards.

Biography

Mäder was born in

Niederuzwil Uzwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil (Wahlkreis), Wil in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Uzwil was first mentioned in 819 as ...

and grew up in Zuzwil in the canton of St. Gallen, one of five children of Theo and Katharina Mäder. He studied at the Hochschule in St. Gallen and at the University of Freiburg before entering the

Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant in the Air Defense Troops. He entered the Papal

Swiss Guards Swiss Guards (french: Gardes Suisses; german: Schweizergarde; it, Guardie Svizzere'')'' are Swiss soldiers who have served as guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. The earliest Swiss guard unit to be established on a p ...

in 1998 and was named commandant in 2002, succeeding

Pius Segmüller Pius Segmüller (born 8 March 1952) is a Swiss politician and former commander of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican City (1998-2002). Segmüller was appointed Commander of the Swiss Guard following the death of Alois Estermann. In 2002, he was suc ...

. Mäder made headlines when he said that there was no plan to allow women into the Swiss Guards. His reason was that the Guard's quarters were too small and the entry of women would lead to discipline problems. He was walking along the Popemobile on 6 June 2007 when a German man jumped over the security cordons and tried to jump into the vehicle. Mäder is married to Theresia Blöchliger and they have four children.

Distinctions

National orders

* :

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

Foreign orders

* :

of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great * : Commander of the Order of Saint Sylvester * : Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre * : Order '' Pro Merito Melitensi'', Grand Officer's Cross with Swords * Knight Grand Cross of Merit of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

References

Commanders of the Swiss Guard 1963 births Living people Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Swiss military officers {{VaticanCity-bio-stub