Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960)
is a Swiss politician who has 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 ...
since 2010. A member of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
(SP/PS), she was
President of the Swiss 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 (Switzerland), Federal Council, the country's ...
in 2015 and 2020.
A former director of the Consumer Protection Foundation, which merged into the
Swiss Alliance of Consumer Organisations in 2010, Sommaruga has headed the
Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
The Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation, french: Département fédéral de l'environnement, des transports, de l'én ...
since 2019, previously heading 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 ...
(2010–2018).
She served as Vice President of Switzerland for 2014 and 2019. Sommaruga assumed the role of
President of the Swiss 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 (Switzerland), Federal Council, the country's ...
in 2015, before returning to the position in 2020. She resides in the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Zug
, neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri
, twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina)
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
, Sommaruga grew up with two brothers and a sister in
Sins
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
,
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
. She attended the
gymnasium at
Immensee,
Schwyz
The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...
and trained as a
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
at the
Lucerne School of Music The Lucerne School of Music (''Hochschule Luzern – Musik'') is a professional school for musicians located in Lucerne, Switzerland, and closely associated with the city's annual music festival. It is a division of the Lucerne University of Appli ...
of
Lucerne University. From 1988 to 1991, she attended
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Romance studies
Romance studies or Romance philology ( an, filolochía romanica; ca, filologia romànica; french: romanistique; eo, latinida filologio; it, filologia romanza; pt, filologia românica; ro, romanistică; es, filología románica) is an acade ...
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 ...
, but did not graduate.
Professional career
Sommaruga held the directorship of the Consumer Protection Foundation (German: Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz) from 1993 to 1999, which earned her public recognition in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, where it was active. She held the presidency of that foundation from 2000 to 2010, as well as that of the aid organisation Swissaid from 2003 to 2008. She was also patron of
''SAFFA 2020'', alongside then-Federal Councillors
Doris Leuthard
Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she was elected as President of the Swiss ...
and
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (born 16 March 1956) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2008 to 2015. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) until 2008, she has since then been a member of t ...
, as well as former Federal Councillor
Micheline Calmy-Rey
Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey (born 8 July 1945) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was the head of the Federal Department of Foreign ...
.
Political career
![Bundesratsfoto 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Bundesratsfoto_2020.jpg)
Sommaruga's political career began as a member of the
Grand Council of Bern
The Grand Council (german: Grosser Rat, french: Grand conseil) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern.
It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part ...
from 1981 to 1990. She served in the municipal government of
Köniz
Köniz (, ) is a statistical town, however considers itself still as a village, and a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district right on the southern border to Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality of K ...
from 1997 to 2005.
In
1999, she was elected to the
National Council; in
2003 she became a member of the Federal Assembly's upper house, the
Council of States, representing the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
.
On 11 August 2010, she announced her candidacy to succeed fellow party member
Moritz Leuenberger
Moritz Leuenberger (born 21 September 1946) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1995 to 2010. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 20 ...
, who had announced his resignation, in the
upcoming election to the
Federal Council. Sommaruga was elected by the
Federal Assembly on 22 September 2010.
She was eventually elected for a full four-year term in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, before successfully seeking reelection in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2019.
On 4 December 2013, Sommaruga was elected as Vice President of Switzerland by the Federal Assembly for 2014, alongside
Didier Burkhalter
Didier Eric Burkhalter (born 17 April 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2017. A member of FDP.The Liberals, he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2014.
Burkhalter was elected ...
, who was elected
President of the Swiss 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 (Switzerland), Federal Council, the country's ...
. On 3 December 2014, she was elected to the presidency for 2015, alongside
Johann Schneider-Ammann
Johann Niklaus Schneider-Ammann (born Schneider, 18 February 1952) is a Swiss businessman and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2018. A member of FDP.The Liberals, he was President of the Swiss Confeder ...
as Vice President of Switzerland. Her first international presidential trip was to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where she joined the
Republican marches
The Republican marches (french: Marches républicaines) were a series of rallies that took place in cities across France on 10–11 January 2015 to honour the victims of the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting, the Montrouge shooting and the Porte de Vi ...
of 11 January 2015, organised to defend freedom of speech following the
''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. She served as President of the Confederation until 31 December 2015, when Schneider-Ammann succeeded her.
On 1 January 2019, she returned to the vice presidency under President
Ueli Maurer
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer (; born 1 December 1950) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2009. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019 ...
. Sommaruga became President of the Swiss Confederation again in 2020, a year marked by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. She was succeeded by
Guy Parmelin
Guy Bernard Parmelin (; born 9 November 1959) is a Swiss politician, who served as president of Switzerland in 2021, having previously served as vice president of Switzerland in 2020. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he has been ...
on 1 January 2021.
On 2 November 2022, she announced her upcoming resignation from the Federal Council. She stated the decision had come abruptly following a stroke suffered by her husband.
Personal life
Sommaruga, who is married to writer
Lukas Hartmann, lives in Spiegel near
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
.
[ She is a distant relative of ]Cornelio Sommaruga
Cornelio Sommaruga (born December 29, 1932 in Rome) is a Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat who is best known for being President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1987 to 1999. Today, he chairs the Geneva Internati ...
and fellow politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland Carlo Sommaruga
Carlo Sommaruga (born 8 July 1959) is a Swiss lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP). He has been a National Councilor for over a decade and since 2019 he is a member of the Council of States.
Early life and ...
.
Publications
* ''Für eine moderne Schweiz. Ein praktischer Reformplan'', with Rudolf Strahm, Nagel & Kimche, Munich, 2005,
* , 10 May 2001
References
External links
*
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Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommaruga, Simonetta
1960 births
20th-century Swiss people
21st-century Swiss politicians
21st-century Swiss women politicians
Female heads of state
Living people
Members of the Council of States (Switzerland)
Members of the National Council (Switzerland)
Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)
People from Zug
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians
University of Fribourg alumni
Women members of the Council of States (Switzerland)
Women members of the National Council (Switzerland)
Women members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)
Female justice ministers
Simonetta