Switzerland–United States relations

Commemorative plaque of the first American diplomatic representation in Switzerland, in Basel

With the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, many Swiss sought a more peaceful and prosperous life in America. A sizable number emigrated to the United States, especially from the cantons of Vaud and Lucerne.[1] As early as 1815, representatives from the two respective cantons had proposed to the Federal Diet that the country establish a consulate in either Philadelphia or New York City to ensure the rights of their merchants and expatriates. The following year the Diet resolved to create a consulate in New York. It was initially decided that their consul would be chosen from the Swiss population in America, but no appointment was ever made. In July 1822, with consultation from Swiss–American diplomat Albert Gallatin, the Diet appointed its first two consuls to the United States: Henry Casimir de Rham of Yverdon-les-Bains, canton of Vaud, a banker and merchant and then-resident of New York; and Antoine Charles Cazenove of Geneva, a wine and tobacco merchant and then-resident of Alexandria, Virginia.[2] Niklaus Rudolf von Wattenwyl, the chairman of the Diet, sent a letter to United States President James Monroe, asking him to grant the appointees an exequatur and emphasizing the liberal and federal characteristics shared by both of their countries' constitutions. The letter marked the first official correspondence between the governments of Switzerland and the United States and established a precedent for the character of relations between them throughout the rest of the 1800s.[3]

The United States granted the exequatur. Gallatin advised the Diet on how to divide the territory to be administered by the two new consuls. De Rham assumed responsibility for a district encompassing the New England states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the states north of the Ohio River. Cazenove managed the remainder of the United States. Their main charge was to protect the interests and property of Swiss immigrants and travelers, particularly merchants. Both performed their duties in an honorary capacity outside of their regular business, with de Rham serving until 1842 and Cazenove until 1852. The latter's responsibilities in his later service became increasingly diplomatic.[2]

Switzerland's cotton and silk exports to the United States increased significantly throughout the 1820s, making it more desirable for the latter to establish its own consulate. In 1830, John G. Boker, businessman from New York City and a friend of Chief Clerk of the Department of State Daniel Brent, was appointed to be the first American consul to Switzerland. He arrived that fall in Bern and was warmly received by the chairman of the Diet.[3] While waiting for his commission to be approved by the 22 cantons, Boker moved to Basel, as most Swiss exports to America passed through there. Impatient with the tedious nature of the decentralized government, he opened his consulate in October without official Swiss recognition.[4]

The United States consuls in Switzerland were busy in their early years. Since their income was dependent on duties made on inspected and approved goods, many American consuls were forced to operate their own businesses for extra money, which diverted their attention from their official responsibilities. While they were on business trips, the consulate was left in the care of a vice-consul or agent, usually a hired merchant. In the absence of a consul, one agent briefly relocated the consulate to Zürich in 1843, though it was returned to Basel the following year upon the arrival of the new appointee, Seth T. Otis.[5]

Diplomatic relations were established in 1853 by the U.S. and in 1868 by Switzerland. The first diplomatic representation of the U.S. was established in Basel in 1853.

The U.S. Embassy in Switzerland is in Bern.[6] The U.S. Mission to the European Office of the United Nations and other International Organizations, the U.S. Mission to the WTO, and the U.S. Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament are in Geneva. America Centers and Consular Agencies are also maintained in Zurich and Geneva. The U.S. ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited to Liechtenstein.

President Donald Trump meets with the President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga in Davos, Switzerland in January 2020.

The relations entered a tense phase during the World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banks starting in 1995. The American government supported the heirs of the Holocaust victims and the Swiss had to re-evaluate the role of Switzerland during World War II. One of the steps taken was the publication of the names of the owners of dormant accounts in Swiss banks, with the surprise result that Renee May, deceased in 1970 and the mother of then American ambassador Madeleine Kunin was among the names.[7]

As of January 2021, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland is temporarily being held by Eva Weigold Schultz, and as of August 2019, the Swiss ambassador to the U.S. is Jacques Pitteloud.

Moreover, Switzerland acts as the protecting power for relations and interests between the U.S. and Iran as the United States severed relations with Iran in 1980, during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran Hostage Crisis. Between 1963 and 2015, Switzerland acted as the protecting power between Cuba and the United States, until the embassies were re-established in Havana and Washington, D.C.

Switzerland has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and maintains consulates-general in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco and has a consulate in Boston.[8]

On 29 March 2021, Swiss Ambassador to the U.S. Jacques Pitteloud was attacked by an unknown intruder at his residence on Cathedral Drive Northwest (attached to the embassy).[9]

Switzerland was the country that hosted the 2021 Russia–United States summit, in Geneva.

In 2022, the Helsinki Commission of the U.S. Congress stated:[10]

Long known as a destination for war criminals and kleptocrats to stash their plunder, Switzerland is a leading enabler of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his cronies. After looting Russia, Putin and his oligarchs use Swiss secrecy laws to hide and protect the proceeds of their crimes.

Both countries enjoy historically close ties, common interests, shared traditions, and remarkable political similarities as federal unions of independent states with representative democracies.[11]

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  Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C.
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  Consulate-General of Switzerland in San Francisco
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  Embassy of the United States in Bern
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  Consular Agency and Permanent Mission of the United States in Geneva