Nuria Gorrite (born 6 July 1970) is a Swiss-Spanish politician and museum curator. A member of the

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (, SP; ), also called the Swiss Socialist Party (; , PS), is a List of political parties in Switzerland, political party in Switzerland. The SP has had two representatives on the Federal Council (Switzerl ...

, she was the first woman to be elected President of the

Council of State of Vaud The Council of State of the Canton of Vaud () is the List of cantonal executives of Switzerland, executive organ of the Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a seven-member ''Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland), Conseil d'Ét ...

Early life and education

Gorrite was born on 6 July 1970 in

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...

to Spanish

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

- Catalan parents who worked as trade unionists. In 1975, her family moved to

Morges Morges (; , Plurale tantum, plural, probably Ablative (Latin), ablative, else dative; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud and the seat of the Morges District, distri ...

. Gorrite became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

citizen of Switzerland when she was nineteen. She studied art history, French, and Spanish at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) 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 Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

from 1992 to 1996.

Career

After finishing her studies, Gorrite was employed as curator of the Musée Alexis Forel in Morges. In 1987, she became involved with

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Politics

Gorrite joined the

in 1993 and was elected to her municipal council that same year. In 2007, she was elected to sit in the

Grand Council of Vaud The Grand Council of Vaud () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years. In May 1981, Marguerite ...

. In 2008, she was elected as mayor of Morges, succeeding Éric Voruz. She served in both of these capacities until 2012. On 1 April 2012, Gorrite was elected to the

, where she chaired the departments of infrastructure and human resources. She was re-elected in 2017 and was appointed president of the council, succeeding Pierre-Yves Maillard as the first woman president. She was sworn into office without the use of religious text. She served as president until 2022, when she was succeeded by Christelle Luisier. On 28 September 2023, she announced that she was diagnosed with cancer and was taking a hiatus from her political office in order to receive treatment, with plans to return in 2024.

Personal life

Gorrite is a dual citizen of Spain and Switzerland. Gorrite is in a relationship with national councillor Olivier Feller, with whom she has a daughter. She said in 2024 that she has

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorrite, Nuria Living people 1970 births 21st-century Swiss women politicians Basque women in politics Members of the Council of State of Vaud Naturalised citizens of Switzerland People of Catalan descent People from La Chaux-de-Fonds Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Swiss people of Basque descent Swiss art curators Swiss women curators University of Lausanne alumni Women mayors of places in Switzerland