Viola Patricia Amherd (born 7 June 1962) 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 2019. She is the head of the

Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für Verteidigung, Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport, french: Département fédéral de la défense, de la protection de la population et des ...

. Amherd was a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC) until 2021, when it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre (DM/LC), which she joined.

Biography

Political career

Amherd was a member of the city council of

Brig-Glis Brig, officially Brig-Glis (french: Brigue-Glis; it, Briga-Glis), is a List of towns in Switzerland, historic town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Brig (district), Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Th ...

(''Stadtrat'', executive member) from 1992 to 1996, vice president of the municipality of Brig-Glis from 1996 to 2000 and president of the municipality of Brig-Glis from 2000 to 2012. Representing the

canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the Sw ...

, she was member of 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 ...

from 31 May 2005 to 31 December 2018. In the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

for the Federal Council of 9 December 2015, Amherd received 16 votes for the vacant seat held by

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 the ...

until the following 31 December, although she had not put her name forward as a candidate. The seat eventually went to

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 ...

. In the course of speculations about a candidature for the Federal Council, she announced her candidacy for the replacement of

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 ...

on 5 October 2018. On 16 November 2018, Amherd and Heidi Z'graggen, a local executive in the

canton of Uri The canton of Uri (german: Kanton Uri rm, Chantun Uri; french: Canton d'Uri; it, Canton Uri) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territ ...

, were nominated as Federal Council candidates by the CVP/PDC. The following 5 December, she was elected to the Federal Council with 148 voting in the first ballot alongside

Karin Keller-Sutter Karin Keller-Sutter (born 22 December 1963) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2019. A member of FDP.The Liberals, she is the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Keller-Sutter p ...

FDP.The Liberals french: PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux it, PLR.I Liberali Radicali rm, PLD.Ils Liberals , logo = , caption = Logo of the party in French, German, and Italian , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Thierry Burkart ...

. On 10 December 2018, it was announced that Amherd would head the

(DDPS) from 1 January 2019. Amherd became the first woman to hold the position. Following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, in April 2022 Amherd wrote to

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

President

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...

, urging the IOC to suspend officials from Russia and Belarus, much as the IOC recommended a ban of athletes and officials from both countries from competitions.

Personal life

Amherd graduated from the Latin Grammar School at the College in Brig in 1982. From 1982 to 1987, she studied jurisprudence 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 ...

and in 1987 received a

licenciate A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin A ...

in both laws. She then completed an internship as a lawyer and notary in Brig-Glis until 1990. In 1990 she was awarded the notary's diploma of the canton of Valais and in 1991 the lawyer's diploma and the bar exam of the canton of Valais. Since 1991, she has worked as a self-employed lawyer and notary with an office in Brig-Glis and from 1994 to 2006 as a part-time judge of the Federal Personnel Appeals Commission. Viola Amherd is single and lives in Brig-Glis. On 7 December 2022, she was elected Vice-President of the Federal Council for 2023; as is customary, she is expected to be elected President for 2024.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Amherd, Viola 1962 births 20th-century Swiss lawyers 21st-century Swiss lawyers 20th-century Swiss women politicians 20th-century Swiss politicians 21st-century Swiss women politicians 21st-century Swiss politicians Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians Canton of Valais politicians Female defence ministers Living people Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) People from Brig-Glis Swiss Roman Catholics Swiss women lawyers University of Fribourg alumni Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Women members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers The Centre politicians