Joseph Deiss
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Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who 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 ...
from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...
(1999–2002) before transferring to the
Federal Department of Economic Affairs The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung; french: Département fédéral de l'économie, de la formation et de la recherche; it, Dipart ...
(2003–2006). Deiss was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 65th session in 2010.


Political career


Legislative and local experience

Joseph Deiss started his political career in 1981 as a representative of his party in the
Grand Council of Fribourg The Grand Council of Fribourg (french: Grand Conseil de Fribourg) is the legislature of the canton of Fribourg, in Switzerland. Fribourg has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council has 110 seats, with members elected every four years. R ...
. In 1991 he became the president of the cantonal parliament for one year. Between 1982 and 1996 Deiss assumed the mayorship of his home village Barberêche. In 1991 he was elected to the National Council. From 1995 to 1996 Deiss was vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council. In 1996 he was made president of the committee in charge of the total revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution.


In the Federal Council

Deiss 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 governm ...
on 11 March 1999, along with his erstwhile colleague Ruth Metzler. Together with Adalbert Durrer and Remigio Ratti, he was one of three official candidates proposed by the CVP/PDC for the seat of retiring Federal Councillor
Flavio Cotti Flavio Cotti (18 October 193916 December 2020) was a Swiss politician who served as member of the Federal Council from 1986 to 1999. He was a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party from the canton of Ticino. In the 1990s, Cotti led t ...
. However, the election became a narrow contest between Deiss and Peter Hess, who was favoured by many conservative representatives. Deiss eventually won after the sixth ballot, by 120 to 119 votes. In office, he has headed the following departments: *
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...
(1999–2002) *
Federal Department of Economic Affairs The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung; french: Département fédéral de l'économie, de la formation et de la recherche; it, Dipart ...
(2003-2006) After the failure of Ruth Metzler to be re-elected in 2003, Metzler challenged him for his seat, but lost by 138 votes to 96. He was subsequently elected
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 ...
for 2004, one year earlier than would have been regular. He became the only remaining representative of the CVP in the Council. On April 27, 2006, Deiss rather unexpectedly resigned as Federal Councillor.Bundesrat Deiss tritt zurück
NZZ Online, April 27, 2006. The CVP's seat not being contested by the other parties, he was succeeded by the president of the CVP,
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 ...
, who took over from Deiss on 1 August 2006.


Professional career

Joseph Deiss studied economics and social sciences for his first degree 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 ...
. He continued to complete a doctorate at the same university after which he spent some time doing research at King's College at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
. After this period of research Joseph Deiss took on the post of lecturing Economics at the University of Fribourg. In 1983 he was made visiting professor at a number of Swiss universities: ETH Zurich,
University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...
and
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...
. From 1993 to 1996 Joseph Deiss acted as National Price Supervisor. He then returned to the University of Fribourg to become the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. At this time at university, Joseph Deiss was also the chairman of the Board of Directors at ''Schumacher AG'' in Schmitten (FR) and chairman of the
Raiffeisenbank Raiffeisenbank refers to cooperative banks in Europe that are rooted in the early credit unions of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen. The name is found in: * Raiffeisen Bankengruppe (Austria), Austrian group of cooperative banks. ** Raiffeisen Zentra ...
in Haut-Lac, Courtepin (FR). In 2009 Joseph Deiss was awarded an honorary degree
Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad ho ...
from
Business School Lausanne Business School Lausanne (BSL) is a private business school located in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is part of the Lemania Group of Swiss Private Schools. History BSL was founded in 1987 by Dr. John Hobbs. The current President is Philippe Du Pas ...
in recognition of his achievements to reinforce and expand the political and economic position of Switzerland.


Personal life

Deiss is married and has three sons. Joseph Deiss is an Honorary Member o
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Joseph Deiss is an Honorary Member o
AFIS Swiss International Civil Servants Association


Works

*''Manuel d'économie politique'', with Danielle Meuwly, 1st edition 1994, reedited. *''Initiation à l'économie politique : analyse économique de la Suisse'', 1st edition 1982, reedited. *''Economie politique et politique économique de la Suisse'', 1st edition 1979, reedited. *''The regional adjustment process and regional monetary policy'', 1978. *''La théorie pure des termes de l'échange international'', doctorate thesis, 1971.


References


External links



* * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Deiss, Joseph 1946 births Living people People from Fribourg Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland) Swiss economists Swiss Roman Catholics University of Fribourg alumni Alumni of King's College, Cambridge University of Fribourg faculty University of Geneva faculty Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Mayors of places in Switzerland Foreign ministers of Switzerland