Hansjörg Walter (born 5 February 1951, in

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld (Alemannic German, Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard Ge ...

) is a Swiss politician of the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

. He was a member of the

Swiss National Council The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

for the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

(1999–2017) and president of the

Swiss Farmers' Union The Swiss Farmers' Union (SFU; until 2013 ''Schweizerischer Bauernverband''; , , represents the interests of the farming community in Switzerland as an umbrella organization and is considered one of the most influential organizations in the coun ...

(2000–2012). Walter served as the President of the National Council (2011–2012).

Biography

Walter graduated from the Agricultural School Strickhof and underwent advanced agricultural and commercial training. In 1983, he graduated as a master farmer (''Meisterlandwirt'') and took over the ''Greuthof'' farm near

Wängi Wängi is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Münchwilen (district), Münchwilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Geography Wängi has an area, , of . Of this area, or 71.1% is use ...

from his parents. His career in politics began with the vice presidency of the Wängi elementary school in 1985. He served in the municipal government of Wängi from 1995 to 2002 and in the cantonal parliament of Thurgau from 1992 to 1999, at which time he was elected to the National Council. He was reelected in 2003, 2007 and 2011 with the second highest number of votes and in 2015 with the highest number of votes of all candidates in

. In the 2008 Swiss Federal Council election, Walter came close to being elected Federal Councillor despite his prior declaration that he would not accept an election. Supported by the parties left of the center, he obtained one vote less than the eventual victor and official People's Party candidate

Ueli Maurer Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer (; born 1 December 1950) is a Swiss politician who served as a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2022. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was Pres ...

. Walter has served in the

Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He is a member of a Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland.ASIN Bulletin, ''Élections fédérales 2015: 43 membres de l'ASIN à Berne'', n°178, december 2015, p.3

References

External links

Personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Hansjorg 1951 births Living people Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2011–2015 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2007–2011 Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland) Swiss People's Party politicians Swiss military officers Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland People from Frauenfeld Candidates for the Federal Council (Switzerland)