Hans Altherr (born 29 April 1950, in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

, Switzerland) is a Swiss politician. He is a member of

FDP.The Liberals french: PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux it, PLR.I Liberali Radicali rm, PLD.Ils Liberals , logo = , caption = Logo of the party in French, German, and Italian , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Thierry Burkart ...

and served as President of the Council of States in 2011 and 2012.

Biography

Altherr studied law at the Universities of

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 ...

and Zurich and subsequently worked as an independent lawyer and youth attorney for the Canton

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden; rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadora; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Esterno) is one of the 26 canton ...

. From 1976 to 1993, he was a councillor in

Trogen Trogen may refer to: People * Karl-Erling Trogen (born 1946) Places * Trogen, Switzerland Trogen is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The town is the seat of the canton's judicial authorities. History The ...

and later a cantonal representative (1989–1998). From 1998 to 2005 he served on the Executive Council, then as Landammann (2000–2003). In 2004, he was elected to the Senate. There he was on the finance committee, the Committee for Social Security and Health, President of the Defence Commission in the Joint Committee on Finance, in the Drafting Committee and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty. Altherr also served as President of the Council States (2011–2012). During his presidency, Altherr erected two flags in the Senate hall, a Swiss flag and a flag of his canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. He established something of a tradition, as this practice was continued by his successors. In July 2022, he was unanimously elected Chairman of the Forum of Federations. Altherr is also an entrepreneur, owner of Weiss AG, a diamond and CBN tool manufacturer from

Walzenhausen Walzenhausen is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. History The farm ''Walzenhausen'' was mentioned first in 1320. The church was built in 1638 in as little as nine months. This was the establishment of Walzenhau ...

. He is divorced and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altherr, Hans 1950 births Living people Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Presidents of the Council of States (Switzerland) People from St. Gallen (city) People from Appenzell Ausserrhoden 20th-century Swiss lawyers FDP.The Liberals politicians University of Geneva alumni University of Zurich alumni