The Ambassador of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

to France is the representative of the government of Switzerland in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and thus responsible for maintaining relations between Switzerland and France.

First permanent diplomatic representation

The first permanent Swiss diplomatic representation abroad was opened in Paris in April 1798 at the time of the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

. Today, the Embassy of the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

as well as the residence of the Swiss Ambassador are housed in the Hôtel de Besenval in Paris.

First French embassy in Switzerland

In the aftermath of the

Battle of Marignano The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the be ...

, the ''Paix Perpétuelle'' ''(Perpetual Peace)'' of 1516 and the

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

alliance of 1521, France had already opened an embassy in 1522 on Swiss territory, in the city of

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

. Hence still today, the city of Solothurn is still called the ''City of Ambassadors.''Jean-Jacques Fiechter / Benno Schubiger: ''L’Ambassade de Suisse à Paris,'' Ambassade de Suisse, 2ème édition, août 1994, p. 30''Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in France,'' Website, 2023''Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs,'' Website, 2023

Ambassadors

From 1798 to 1957 as the Swiss Envoy, called Minister

* 1798–1800: Peter Josef Zeltner (1765-1830) * 1800–1800: Gottlieb Abraham von Jenner (1765–1834) * 1800–1803: Philipp Albert Stapfer (1766–1840) * 1803–1814: Antoine Constantin de Maillardoz, Marquis de Maillardoz (1765–1832) * 1814–1847: Georg von Tschann (1777–1847) * 1848–1857: Josef Hyazint Barmann (1800–1885) * 1857–1883: Johann Konrad Kern (1808–1888) * 1883–1917: Charles Édouard Lardy (1847–1923), Lardy was one of the first professional Swiss diplomats (career diplomat) * 1917–1938: Alphonse Dunant (1869–1942) * 1938–1944: Walter Stucki (1888–1963) * 1945–1949: Carl J. Burckhardt (1891–1974) * 1949–1956: Peter Anton von Salis (1898–1982) * 1956–1961: Pierre Micheli (1905–1989), Minister and in 1957 Micheli became Ambassador, when the Swiss Legation was upgraded to an embassy * 1961–1966: Agostino Soldati (1910–1966) * 1967–1977: Pierre Dupont (1912–1993) * 1977–1987: François de Ziegler (1922–2006) * 1987–1993:

Carlo Jagmetti Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

(* 1932) * 1993–1997:

Edouard Brunner Edouard Brunner (February 24, 1932 – June 25, 2007) was a Swiss diplomat, ambassador, and United Nations mediator. Biography Brunner was born in Istanbul. A product of a diplomatic family, he studied law in Geneva and entered the Swiss Federal ...

(1932–2007) * 1997–2002: Benedict de Tscharner (1937–2019) * 2002–2007: François Nordmann (* 1942) * 2007–2011: Ulrich Lehner (* 1954) * 2011–2014: Jean-Jacques de Dardel (* 1954) * 2014–2018: Bernardino Regazzoni (* 1957) * 2018–2020: Livia Leu (* 1961) * 2020–today: Roberto Balzaretti (* 1965)

Seats of Swiss diplomatic representations in Paris since the mid-19th century

* 1857–1859: 14 Avenue des Champs-Elysées * 1860–1864: 3 Rue d’Aumale * 1865–1883: 3 Rue Blanche * 1892–1894: 4 Rue Cambon * 1895–1918: 15bis Rue de Marignan * 1919–1938: 51 Avenue Hoche * since 1938: 142 Rue de Grenelle, Hôtel de Besenval

Notes

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External links

Swiss diplomacy through the ages
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