Willy Spühler (31 January 1902, in Zurich – 31 May 1990) was 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. He 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 governme ...

on 17 December 1959, representing the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

, and handed over office on 31 January 1970. He was affiliated to 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 For ...

. He was a municipal councillor in Zurich in 1928 and a national councillor from 1938 to 1959. He was the first foreign minister to advocate Switzerland's membership of the United Nations in 1966. One week after de Gaulle's ''Vive le Quebéc libre!'', Spühler delivered a speech on pluringual Switzerland during Montreal's Universal Exhibition in 1967 . During his time in office he held the following departments: *

Department of Posts and Railways 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 ...

(1960–1962), renamed Department of Transport, Communications and Energy (1963–1965) * Political Department (1966–1970) He was

President of the 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, the country's executive branch. Elected by ...

in 1963 and 1968. After retirement, he presided the ''Pro Helvetia'' Foundation and the consultative commission for Switzerland's presence abroad.

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* * 1902 births 1990 deaths Politicians from Zürich Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Foreign ministers of Switzerland {{Switzerland-politician-stub