Barbara Schmid-Federer (born 10 November 1965) is a Swiss politician, educator, and philanthropist. A member of the

Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (, CVP), also called the Christian Democratic Party (, PDC), Democratic People's Party (, PPD) and Swiss Christian Democratic Party (, PCD), was a Christian democracy, Christian democratic Li ...

, she was elected to a seat in the National Council in 2007, serving until 2018. As a member of the National Council, Schmid-Federer spearheaded family policy and children's safety initiatives, including public breastfeeding and cyberbullying prevention in her platforms. She was appointed as president of

Pro Juventute ''Pro Juventute'' is a charitable foundation in Switzerland established in 1912. It is dedicated to supporting the rights and needs of Swiss children and youth. Since 1913, the Swiss post office has issued an annual charity stamp series to su ...

in 2019 and served in that capacity until 2022, when she assumed the role of Vice President. She served as President of the

Swiss Red Cross The Swiss Red Cross ( German: ', French: ', Italian: ', Romansh: '), or SRC (''SRK'' in German, ''CRS'' in French and Italian), is the national Red Cross society for Switzerland. The SRC was founded in 1866 in Bern, Switzerland. In accord ...

between 2022 and 2023.

Early life, family, and education

Barbara Federer was born on 10 November 1965 in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, the daughter of an international businessman. She is a member of the Federer family, who are part of the

Bürgergemeinde The Bürgergemeinde (also Burgergemeinde, Ortsgemeinde, Ortsbürgergemeinde, Tagwen, commune bourgeoise, vischnanca burgaisa; ) is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland. It includes all individuals who are citizens of the Bürgerg ...

of Berneck, St. Gallen, and is the sister of the Catholic prelate Urban Federer, who serves as the Abbot of

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey () is a Catholic monastery administered by the Benedictine Order in the village of Einsiedeln, Switzerland. The Abbey of Einsiedeln is one of the most important baroque monastic sites and the largest place of pilgrimage in Swit ...

. She is the great-great granddaughter of the politician

Josef Zemp Josef Zemp (2 September 1834 in Entlebuch – 8 December 1908) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1891–1908). On 17 December 1891, he was the first member of a conservative party to be elected to the Federal Council ...

, who was the first member of a conservative party to be elected to the

Federal Council of Switzerland The Federal Council is the federal Cabinet (government), cabinet of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and Head of government, government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the F ...

and later served as Swiss President. She is also a relative of the politician Ida Glanzmann-Hunkeler and tennis player

Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...

. She grew up speaking German and French. In 1984, she graduated from Kantonsschule Hohe Promenade in Zürich. She went on to study French philology, Spanish literature, comparative literature, and journalism studies at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

from 1985 to 1991. She also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. After graduating in 1991, Schmid-Federer completed a language homestay in the United States.

Career

Education

After completing her language study in the United States, Schmid-Federer returned to Europe in 1991 to work as a high school teacher at the Free High School in Zürich and at a school in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. From 1994 to 1997, she served as an assistant to the President of

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

, later taking over the management of the Dual Career Advice Office from 1998 to 2002. She also helped appoint foreign professors to ETH Zurich.

Politics

Schmid-Federer was elected to the National Council in the

2007 Swiss federal election Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 Novembe ...

on 21 October 2007, with a platform of ending

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

and establishing protection for children using the internet. She served as a member of the Legal Affairs Committee during her first term in office. After her re-election on 23 October 2011, she served as a member of the Judiciary Commission GK of the National Council and, from 2011 to 2018, she served on the Commission for Social Security and Health SGK. From 2014 to 2018, she served as Co-President of the Parliamentary Group on Family Policy. Schmid-Federer launched a media initiative to provide breastfeeding zones in restaurants and pharmacies. As a committee spokesperson, she was one of few native German-speakers permitted to speak French in the National Council. She was succeeded by Philip Kutter in the National Council.

Philanthropy and charity

Since 2 November 2011, Schmid-Federer has served as President of the

in the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

. She has been a member of the Red Cross Council since 2018 and a board member of

since January 2019. In June 2019, she was elected as Vice President of the Swiss Red Cross and, in June 2022, she succeeded Thomas Heiniger as President of the Swiss Red Cross. In November 2019, she succeeded Josef Felder as the President of

. She later assumed the role of Vice President of Pro Juventute, due to her presidential nomination at the Swiss Red Cross. She served on the Board of Trustees of Pro Mente Sana from 2018 to 2022, on the board of directors of TopPharm Pharmacy Paradeplatz since 2002, and as a member of the board of directors of Radio Zürisee AG since 2008. From 2009 to 2018, she was a member of the board of trustees of the Greina Foundation and, from 2008 to 2010, she was an advisory board member of the Swisscleantech Business Association. She has also served as a member of the advisory board of the Engelberg Sports School and of the Swiss Police IT Congress. As president of the Swiss Red Cross, she was active in advocating for refugees in Switzerland. She resigned as President of the Swiss Red Cross in June 2023.

Personal life

Schmid-Federer is married to Lorenz Schmid, a CVP politician who sat on the

Cantonal Council of Zürich The Cantonal Council of Zürich () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Zürich, Zürich, in Switzerland. Zürich has a unicameral legislature. The Cantonal Council has 180 seats, with members elected every four ...

until 2022. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid-Federer, Barbara Living people 1965 births Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians Academic staff of ETH Zurich Barbara Politicians from Zurich Red Cross personnel Swiss philanthropists Swiss Roman Catholics Swiss schoolteachers University of Zurich alumni Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2011–2015 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2007–2011 Swiss women philanthropists