Claude Janiak (born 30 October 1948) is a Swiss politician of Polish origin, lawyer and

President of the Swiss National Council The President of the National Council of Switzerland (german: Nationalratspräsident; french: Président du Conseil national, it, Presidente del Consiglio nazionale; rm, President dal cussegl naziunal) presides over the National Council and Fed ...

for the 2005/2006 term. 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 ...

(SPS), he was elected to the National Council in 1999 in the canton of Basel-Land and reelected in 2003. In 2007, he was elected to the

Swiss Council of States The Council of States (german: Ständerat, french: Conseil des États, it, Consiglio degli Stati, rm, Cussegl dals Stadis) is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, with the National Council being the lower house. It compri ...

. He studied law at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

(1967–1971) and in London. In 1975, he completed his doctorate degree. He is attorney-at-law in Binningen since 1978. From 1991, he is a member of the board of the cantonal bank of Basel-Land ('' Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank''). He was a member of the cantonal parliament of

Basel-Landschaft Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

(1981–1987 and 1994–1999, president 1998/1999), of the city parliament of Binningen (1988–1995), and of the executive of Bubendorf (1976–1979). Born in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

of Polish father and a Swiss mother, he acquired Swiss citizenship only in 1956 (he has also been a Polish citizen since birth). Today, he is a citizen of

and Binningen. He was the first openly homosexual President of the Swiss National Council and lives in a

registered partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

.http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?article_id=4384&sec=article

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Janiak Freivogel und Partner
– attorneys-at-law * 1948 births Living people 20th-century Swiss lawyers Gay politicians Swiss LGBT politicians Swiss people of Polish descent Members of the Council of States (Switzerland) Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians LGBT legislators Swiss gay men 20th-century Swiss LGBT people 21st-century Swiss LGBT people {{Switzerland-politician-stub