Hansjörg Walter (born 5 February 1951, in

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld (Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Sw ...

) is a Swiss politician of the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (german: Schweizerische Volkspartei, SVP; rm, Partida populara Svizra, PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (french: Union démocratique du centre, UDC; it, Unione Democratica di Centro, UDC), is a nati ...

. He was a member of the

Swiss National Council The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...

for the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

(1999–2017) and president of the Swiss Farmers' Union (2000–2012). Walter served as the President of the National Council (2011–2012).

Biography

Walter graduated from the Agricultural School Strickhof and underwent advanced agricultural and commercial training. In 1983, he graduated as a master farmer (''Meisterlandwirt'') and took over the ''Greuthof'' farm near

Wängi Wängi is a municipality in the district of Münchwilen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Geography Wängi has an area, , of . Of this area, or 71.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 16.3% is forested. Of the rest of th ...

from his parents. His career in politics began with the vice presidency of the Wängi elementary school in 1985. He served in the municipal government of Wängi from 1995 to 2002 and in the cantonal parliament of Thurgau from 1992 to 1999, at which time he was elected to the National Council. He was reelected in 2003, 2007 and 2011 with the second highest number of votes and in 2015 with the highest number of votes of all candidates in

. In the 2008 Swiss Federal Council election, Walter came close to being elected

Federal Councillor 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 governm ...

despite his prior declaration that he would not accept an election. Supported by the parties left of the center, he obtained one vote less than the eventual victor and official People's Party candidate

Ueli Maurer Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer (; born 1 December 1950) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2009. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019 ...

. Walter has served in 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 ...

with the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He is a member of a

Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland The Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland (german: Aktion für eine unabhängige und neutrale Schweiz or ''AUNS'', french: Action pour une Suisse indépendante et neutre or ''ASIN'', it, Azione per una Svizzera neutrale e indipenden ...

.ASIN Bulletin, ''Élections fédérales 2015: 43 membres de l'ASIN à Berne'', n°178, december 2015, p.3

References

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Hansjorg 1951 births Living people Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Swiss People's Party politicians Swiss military officers Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland People from Frauenfeld