 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(January 2016) |
Hans Altherr (born 29 April 1950 in St. Gallen, Switzerland) is a Swiss politician. He is a member of FDP.The Liberals and served as President of the Council of States in 2011 and 2012.
Altherr studied law at the Universities of Geneva and Zurich and subsequently worked as an independent lawyer and youth attorney for the Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. From 1976 to 1993, he was a councillor in Trogen and later a cantonal representative (1989–1998). From 1998 to 2005 he served on the Executive Council, then as Landammann (2000–2003).
In 2004, he was elected to the Senate. There he was on the finance committee, the Committee for Social Security and Health, President of the Defence Commission in the Joint Committee on Finance, in the Drafting Committee and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty. Altherr also served as President of the Council States (2011–2012).
During his presidency, Altherr erected two flags in the Senate hall, a Swiss flag and a flag of his canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. He established something of a tradition, as this practice was continued by his successors.
In July 2022, he was unanimously elected Chairman of the Forum of Federations.
Altherr is also an entrepreneur, owner of Weiss AG, a diamond and CBN tool manufacturer from Walzenhausen. He is divorced and has three children.
Arnold Koller is a Swiss professor and politician. He served as a member of the Federal Council (Switzerland) from 1987 to 1999 for the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP). Koller previously served as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) from 1971 to 1986. He did also serve two terms of the as President of the Swiss Confederation in 1990 and 1997. He is primarily known for Lex Koller, a Swiss Federal Act on Acquisitions of Real Estate by Persons Abroad, which he initiated.
Anna Elisabeth Kopp was a Swiss politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). She was the first woman to serve in the Swiss government, the Federal Council. She held that office from 2 October 1984 to 12 January 1989, when she resigned following a scandal over an alleged breach of official secrecy. She previously served as a member of the National Council from 1979 to 1984.
The Council of States is the upper house of the Federal Assembly, and the lower house being the National Council. It comprises 46 members.
Appenzell Innerrhoden, in English sometimes Appenzell Inner-Rhodes, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of six districts. The seat of the government and parliament is Appenzell. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
Appenzell Ausserrhoden, in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of twenty municipalities. The seat of the government and parliament is Herisau, and the seat of judicial authorities are in Trogen. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Trogen is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The town is the seat of the canton's judicial authorities.
Reute is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland.
The canton of St. Gallen or St Gall is a canton of Switzerland. Its capital is St. Gallen.
Hans-Rudolf Merz is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2010. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) until the foundation of FDP.The Liberals in 2009, he headed the Federal Department of Finance during his tenure as a Federal Councillor. Merz served as President of the Swiss Confederation in 2009.
The Landsgemeinde is a public, non-secret ballot voting system operating by majority rule, which constitutes one of the oldest forms of direct democracy. Still at use – in a few places – at the subnational political level in Switzerland, it was formerly practiced in eight cantons. For practical reasons, the Landsgemeinde has been abolished at the cantonal level in all but two cantons where it still holds the highest political authority: Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. The Landsgemeinde is also convened in some districts of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Grisons and Schwyz to vote on local questions.
Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote in federal elections after a referendum in February 1971. The first federal vote in which women were able to participate was the 31 October 1971 election of the Federal Assembly. However it was not until a 1990 decision by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland that women gained full voting rights in the final Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Silvesterklaus is a masked person taking part in Saint Sylvester's Day festivities in Appenzell, Switzerland, and thus contributing to maintain the Chlausen tradition. A Silvesterklaus or New Year's Mummer is dressed up as a Saint Sylvester or New Year's Eve character. In the Reformed half-canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the turn of the year is still celebrated in this way.
Johann Ulrich Schiess was a Swiss politician who served as the third Chancellor of Switzerland.
Wangpo Tethong is the owner and managing director of Tethong Kommunikation. He is a former party secretary of the Green Party Canton of Zurich, spokesperson of Greenpeace Switzerland and worked as a senior consultant for a Swiss consultancy company. He is also known as a Swiss–Tibetan activist, writer and member of the 15th Tibetan Parliament in Exile.
Ivo Bischofberger is a Swiss politician and jurist. He was a member of the Council of States from 2007 to 2019 and served as the President of the chamber from 2016 to 2017. Prior to his election to the upper chamber, he was a judge at the municipal level from 1986 to 1992 and at the cantonal level in Appenzell Innerrhoden from 1992 to 2008.
Maja Riniker is a Swiss politician of the Liberals (FDP) and a member of the National Council the lower house of the Swiss Parliament. She is the current 1st Vice President of the National Council.
David Zuberbühler is a Swiss businessman and politician. He currently serves as a member of the National Council for the Swiss People's Party since 2015. He previously served on the Cantonal Council of Appenzell Ausserrhoden from 2011 to 2016.
Susanne Vincenz stylized Vincenz-Stauffacher is a Swiss attorney, notary public and politician. She currently serves as member of the National Council (Switzerland) for The Liberals since 2019. Since 2020, Vincenz is the president of The Liberals Women Switzerland. She previously served on the Cantonal Council of St. Gallen for the St. Gallen constituency from 2018 to 2020. In 2022, she was briefly nominated for the seat in the Council of States (Switzerland) which was later accepted by Esther Friedli.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
