Marianne Huguenin (born 1 May 1950) is a former Swiss politician and member of the

Swiss Party of Labour The Swiss Party of Labour (german: Partei der Arbeit der Schweiz; french: Parti Suisse du Travail – Parti Ouvrier et Populaire; it, Partito Svizzero del Lavoro – Partito Operaio e Popolare; rm, Partida svizra da la lavur) is a communist pa ...

, who was elected to 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 ...

representing the Canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

from 2003 to 2007. A lesbian, she was the first openly gay politician in French-speaking Switzerland.

Biography

Originally trained as a medical doctor, she served as a deputy in the Grand Council of Vaud from 1990 to 1999 and was president of the Vaud Cantonal branch of the Swiss Party of Labour from 1988 to 1995. From 1996 to 2006 she served as a municipal councilor in the city of

Renens Renens ( ) is a municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is located in the district of Ouest Lausannois, and is a suburb of the city of Lausanne. It is the fourth largest city in the canton. It is considered a very multiethnic town, a ...

, before becoming Syndic (mayor) of the city from 2006 to 2016. In 2003 she was elected to the National Council and reelected in 2007. 11 days after the 2007 election, on 1 November 2007, Huguenin announced her resignation from the National Council in favour of

Josef Zisyadis Josef Zisyadis (born 17 April 1956) is a Swiss politician, a member of the Swiss Party of Labour, and of the Alternative Left (since 2010). Born to Greek parents in Istanbul, and after a sojourn in Athens (1958–1962), he moved to Switzerland w ...

to focus on her position as mayor of

. In 2004, Huguenin was the first French-speaking Swiss politician to come out as gay and in 2005 she campaigned for same-sex partnership recognition in the country's successful referendum on the issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huguenin, Marianne 1950 births Living people Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Lesbian politicians Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Swiss Party of Labour politicians 20th-century Swiss women politicians 20th-century Swiss politicians 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians Swiss LGBT politicians LGBT heads of government