Kaspar Villiger (pronounced Caspar Feeleeger; born 5 February 1941) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

businessman, politician and former member of 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 ...

(1989–2003).

Political career

On 1 February 1989, he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council. He is affiliated to the Free Democratic Party (Liberals). During his time in office he headed the following departments: *

Federal Military Department 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, r ...

(1989 – 1995) *

Federal Department of Finance The Federal Department of Finance (FDF, german: Eidgenössisches Finanzdepartement, links=no, french: Département fédéral des finances, links=no, it, Dipartimento federale delle finanze, links=no, rm, ) is one of the seven departments of ...

(1996 – 2003) He was

President of the Confederation The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head of Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council, the country's executive branch. Elected by ...

twice, in 1995 and again in 2002. In 1995 Kaspar Villiger apologized on occasion of an official visit by Dan Culler who was an internee in the

Wauwilermoos internment camp Wauwilermoos was an internment camp and prisoner-of-war penal camp in Switzerland during World War II. It was situated in the municipalities of Wauwil and Egolzwil in the Canton of Lucerne (Luzern). Established in 1940, Wauwilermoos was a penal ...

during World War II. Dwight Mears, a U.S. Army officer, covered the apology in his 2012 PhD thesis on the American internees in Switzerland. In September 2003, he announced he was to resign on 31 December 2003.

Business career

In 2004, he became member of the board of directors of

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

and

Swiss Re Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,
Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re") ...

. On 15 April 2009, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Swiss banking giant

UBS UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

, holding this post until 3 May 2012.Kaspar Villiger wird neuer UBS-Verwaltungsratspräsident
NZZ Online, 4 March 2009 His successor was

Axel A. Weber Axel Alfred Weber (born 8 March 1957) is a German economist, professor, and banker. He is currently a board member and chairman of Swiss investment bank and financial services company, UBS Group AG, and has announced his resignation effective 7 A ...

Other activities

Kaspar Villiger is a Member of the

Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...

, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

References

External links

*
Business activities of Kaspar Villiger
databot.ch {{DEFAULTSORT:Villiger, Kaspar 1941 births Living people Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Finance ministers of Switzerland Directors of Nestlé Swiss Protestants UBS people People from Sursee District Swiss chairpersons of corporations