Pascal Couchepin

Pascal Couchepin (born 5 April 1942) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1998 to 2009. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD), he was President of the Swiss Confederation twice, in 2003 and 2008. Couchepin headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and Federal Department of Home Affairs from 2003 until 2009.

Pascal Couchepin
President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 2008 – 31 December 2008
Vice PresidentHans-Rudolf Merz
Preceded byMicheline Calmy-Rey
Succeeded byHans-Rudolf Merz
In office
1 January 2003 – 31 December 2003
Vice PresidentRuth Metzler-Arnold
Preceded byKaspar Villiger
Succeeded byJoseph Deiss
Vice President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 2007 – 31 December 2007
PresidentMicheline Calmy-Rey
Preceded byMicheline Calmy-Rey
Succeeded byHans-Rudolf Merz
In office
1 January 2002 – 31 December 2002
PresidentKaspar Villiger
Preceded byKaspar Villiger
Succeeded byRuth Metzler
Head of the Department of Home Affairs
In office
1 January 2003 – 1 November 2009
Preceded byRuth Dreifuss
Succeeded byDidier Burkhalter
Head of the Department of Economic Affairs
In office
1 January 1998 – 31 December 2002
Preceded byJean-Pascal Delamuraz
Succeeded byJoseph Deiss
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
In office
1 January 1998 – 1 November 2009
Preceded byJean-Pascal Delamuraz
Succeeded byDidier Burkhalter
Personal details
Born (1942-04-05) 5 April 1942
Martigny, Switzerland
Political partyFree Democratic Party
SpouseBrigitte Rendu
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Lausanne
ProfessionLawyer

Biography

Couchepin holds a DEA's degree in Law from the University of Lausanne. He is a father of three (two daughters and a son) and has two grandchildren.

He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 11 March 1998 as a member of the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland from the canton of Valais. Previously, he had been Deputy Mayor (1976) and Mayor of Martigny (from 1984), as well as elected to the National Council from 1979 to 1998.

2008 Swiss Federal Council

In 1998 he took over the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, in which position he fought against the government contributing any money to the $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and Holocaust survivors. He was quoted as saying that "there is no reason for the Swiss Government to pay anything", as a government commission had shown "we did what was possible in the hard times of the war."[1] In 2003 he moved to the Federal Department of Home Affairs. He was the President of the Confederation in 2003. On 13 December 2006, he was elected Vice President of the Federal Council for 2007; on 12 December 2007 was elected President of the Confederation for 2008.

During the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy, also known as the 2006 Regensburg lecture, he stated the Pope's speech was "intelligent and necessary."[2] On 12 June 2009, Couchepin announced his resignation from the Federal Council effective 31 October 2009.[3] This led to an election to fill his vacated seat.

Pascal Couchepin is a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organisation which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organisation composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organisation officials who work closely with heads of government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

See also
  • Pierre du Bois de Dunilac

References
  1. New York Times
  2. "Le ministre suisse de l'Intérieur défend Benoît XVI", Associated Press, 17 September 2006 (in French)
  3. "Couchepin throws in the towel". Swissinfo. June 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
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