Dr. Michael E. Dreher, also known as Mike Dreher, is a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

Swiss politician, and founder of the

Freedom Party of Switzerland The Freedom Party of Switzerland (FPS) (german: Freiheits-Partei der Schweiz; french: Parti suisse de la liberté / PSL) is a minor right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Its president and leading representative is Jürg Scherrer, ...

(originally "Motorist Party", german: Auto-Partei). He holds an MBA from

University of St. Gallen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and was an MP from 1987–1999.

Political life

Dreher champions individual freedom, tax breaks, individual mobility and adheres to the principles of

Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

and

Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

. He calls for strict regulations on immigration, and prevalence of law and order. However, he does not back the death penalty. In his early days he joined the

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland french: Parti radical-démocratique it, Partito Liberale Radicale rm, Partida liberaldemocrata svizra , logo = Free Democratic Party of Switzerland logo French.png , logo_size = 200px , foundation = , dissolution = ...

. In the 1970s he served as a secretary of the

Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) was established by the Korean Armistice Agreement signed 27 July 1953, declaring an armistice in the Korean War. It is, with the Military Armistice Commission, part of the mechanism regulating the r ...

Panmunjom Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean A ...

, Korea with the rank of a Swiss army captain; he travelled extensively in East Asia and Eastern Europe. In 1979 he was a candidate in national elections for the first time. In the 1980s he created a pressure group under the name "Buergeraktion" (People's Action) and aggressively supported candidates of Switzerland's centre-right majority parties. Dreher countered the rise of the

Green Party of Switzerland The Green Party of Switzerland (german: GRÜNE Schweiz; french: Les VERT-E-S suisses; it, VERDI svizzeri; rm, VERDA svizra) is the fourth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland and the largest party that is not represented on th ...

and particularly rebuked its claims about

Forest dieback Forest dieback (also "", a German loan word) is a condition in trees or woody plants in which peripheral parts are killed, either by pathogens, parasites or conditions like acid rain, drought, and more. These episodes can have disastrous conseq ...

which he denounced as "lie of the century". His verbal attacks on the "reds and greens" were often rude, and rocked the political establishment of Switzerland. He opposes Swiss EU and UNO membership, but supports membership of Switzerland in

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

and

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...

for the purpose of free trade. In 1985 he left the FDP and founded the Motorist Party. He was a national MP from 1987 to 1999, and joined 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 ...

which took up many of his ideas in 2001. He is publisher of the capitalist magazine "Tacho" that promotes the cause of taxpayers and motorists, and President of the Motorist Foundation ("Auto-Allianz").

Personal

Dreher is a legal and economic consultant, based in

Zollikon Zollikon is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland known for being one of Switzerland's most exclusive districts. Besides the main settlement of Zollikon, which lies on the shore of Lake Zürich, the munici ...

, a ritzy

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

suburb. He is married, and has one son. He is a member of Scaphusia Schaffhausen and an admirer of late US President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and UK Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. Almost naturally, Dreher has a flair for cars and a collection of old-timers. ;Organization *

External links

dreher.ch

autoallianz.ch

Political yearbook

Official biography of the Swiss parliament
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreher, Michael E. 1944 births Living people People from Schaffhausen Freedom Party of Switzerland politicians Swiss People's Party politicians Members of the National Council (Switzerland)