Ruth Metzler (born Arnold, 23 May 1964) is a Swiss politician who served as a
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
from 1999 to 2003. A member of the
Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she headed the
Federal Department of Justice and Police
The Federal Department of Justice and Police (german: Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, french: Département fédéral de justice et police, it, Dipartimento federale di giustizia e polizia, rm, ) is one of the seven departmen ...
.
Biography
Political career
Educated at the
University of Fribourg
The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland.
The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...
, Metzler served as the cantonal executive in charge of finance in
Appenzell Innerrhoden from 1996 to 1999.
She was elected to 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 governm ...
on 11 March 1999, as a member of the
Christian Democratic People's Party. Metzler took office at the
Federal Department of Justice and Police
The Federal Department of Justice and Police (german: Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, french: Département fédéral de justice et police, it, Dipartimento federale di giustizia e polizia, rm, ) is one of the seven departmen ...
the following 1 May, succeeding
Arnold Koller
Arnold Koller (born 29 August 1933) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1986–1999).
He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 10 December 1986 as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party of ...
; she won 14 referendums during her time in office. On 1 January 2003, she assumed the vice presidency of the Swiss Confederation.
On 10 December 2003, she became the third Federal Councillor not to be reelected in the history of the Swiss Federal State. In the
2003 Federal Assembly election, her party lost many voters and the
Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) became the largest party of Switzerland. The Swiss People's Party then requested another seat in the Federal Council. In the
elections for the Federal Council on 10 December, the
Federal Assembly did not reelect Metzler and elected
Christoph Blocher
Christoph Wolfram Blocher (; born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss industrialist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2007. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he headed the Federal Department of ...
instead, by 121 votes to 116 on the third round of voting. She challenged her CVP colleague
Joseph Deiss
Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed the Federal Departmen ...
for his seat, but lost by 138 to 96. Metzler kept her seat until the end of the year and Christoph Blocher succeeded her on 1 January 2004.
After politics
She published the memories of those years under the title "Grissini & Alpenbitter", 2004, . She taught between February and July 2004 at the
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 ...
a class called "Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten in der Politik" which can be translated as "scope for design in politics". Since April 2005 she has been working for the Swiss pharmaceutical company
Novartis
Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...
.
References
External links
www.ruthmetzler.ch– personal website launched for the sale of her book
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzler, Ruth
1964 births
People from Sursee District
Living people
Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians
University of Fribourg alumni
Swiss Roman Catholics
Swiss women lawyers
Women members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)
20th-century women rulers
20th-century Swiss women politicians
20th-century Swiss politicians
21st-century Swiss women politicians
21st-century Swiss politicians
20th-century Swiss lawyers
21st-century Swiss lawyers
20th-century women lawyers
21st-century women lawyers