Trix Heberlein-Ruff (born 17 July 1942, in St. Gallen) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

politician of the

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

(FDP) and a former president of the

National Council of Switzerland 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 ...

Life and career

Heberlein attended primary school in Teufen, later cantonal school in St. Gallen and earned her ''Matura'' in 1961. She subsequently studied law at the University of Zurich and earned a license degree in 1965. Later she took the lawyer exam.

Political career

Heberlein was elected into the Cantonal Council of Zurich in 1979 which she was a part of until 1991. From 1991 to 2003, she was a member of the National Council which she chaired from November 1998 to December 1999. Then she represented the canton of Zurich in the Council of States from 2003 to 2007. On 20 December 2006, she announced she would retire by the end of her term. From 1998 to 2014, Heberlein chaired the foundation that promotes organ donation. After she resigned from the Council of States she was the president of , a foundation which certifies NGO's. between 2008 and 2015.

Personal life

Since 1967 she has been married to lawyer Robert Heberlin, with whom she has two daughters. She is a proficient skier and during her political career she organized several Ski races between Swiss parliamentarians, and interparliamenetarian races with members of the parliaments of either

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Her places of origin are Zumikon and

Wattwil Wattwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil.

References

External links

* 20th-century Swiss women politicians 20th-century Swiss politicians 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Women members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Swiss women lawyers University of Zurich alumni People from St. Gallen (city) 1942 births Living people {{Switzerland-politician-stub