Walter Thurnherr

Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is a Swiss government official who served as Chancellor of Switzerland from 2016 to 2023.^[1] Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC). When it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre (DM/LC) in 2021, Thurnherr joined the new party.

Walter Thurnherr
Official portrait, 2023
16th Chancellor of Switzerland
In office 1 January 2016 – 31 December 2023
President	Johann Schneider-Ammann Doris Leuthard Alain Berset Ueli Maurer Simonetta Sommaruga Guy Parmelin Ignazio Cassis Alain Berset
Vice-Chancellor	Jörg De Bernardi Viktor Rossi André Simonazzi
Preceded by	Corina Casanova
Succeeded by	Viktor Rossi
Personal details
Born	(1963-07-11) 11 July 1963 (age 62) Muri, Aargau, Switzerland
Political party	Christian Democratic People's Party (before 2021) The Centre (2021–present)
Children	2
Alma mater	ETH Zurich University of Bern

On 16 August 2023 he announced that he would leave his position before the end of 2023.^[2]

Biography

Early life

Born in Muri, Aargau, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the ETH Zurich in 1987, before studying mathematics at the University of Bern. In 1989, he joined the ranks of Switzerland's diplomatic corps. In 2002, he was appointed chief of staff of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs under Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss. The following year, he was named chief of staff of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, first under Pascal Couchepin, then Deiss and finally Doris Leuthard. He followed Leuthard when she took over the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications in 2011 as her chief of staff.^[3]

Federal Chancellor

He stood for election to succeed Corina Casanova as Chancellor of Switzerland on 9 December 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in 90 years. He was elected by the Swiss Federal Assembly with 230 votes out of 234.^[4][5] He assumed office on 1 January 2016. He was reelected on 11 December 2019 with 219 votes out of 224.

In a 2023 interview, Thurnherr called for Switzerland to become more involved in international matters.^[6]

Personal life

Thurnherr is active on Twitter as of 2023, where he often shares his passion for physics and mathematics. He speaks English, German, French, and learned Russian as a diplomat working in Moscow. He is married and has two children. In his free time he enjoys hiking and reading.^[7]