Kaspar Villiger

Kaspar Villiger (pronounced Caspar Feeleeger; born 5 February 1941) is a Swiss businessman, politician and former member of the Swiss Federal Council (1989–2003).

Kaspar Villiger
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
In office
1 February 1989 – 31 December 2003
Preceded byElisabeth Kopp
Succeeded byHans-Rudolf Merz
President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 1995 – 31 December 1995
Vice PresidentJean-Pascal Delamuraz
Preceded byOtto Stich
Succeeded byJean-Pascal Delamuraz
In office
1 January 2002 – 31 December 2002
Vice PresidentPascal Couchepin
Preceded byMoritz Leuenberger
Succeeded byPascal Couchepin
Minister of the Military
In office
1 February 1989 – 31 December 1995
Preceded byArnold Koller
Succeeded byAdolf Ogi
Minister of Finance
In office
1 January 1996 – 31 December 2003
Preceded byOtto Stich
Succeeded byHans-Rudolf Merz
Vice President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 2001 – 31 December 2001
PresidentMoritz Leuenberger
Preceded byMoritz Leuenberger
Succeeded byPascal Couchepin
Personal details
Born (1941-02-05) 5 February 1941
Pfeffikon, Lucerne, Switzerland
Political partyFree Democratic Party
Children2
Alma materETH Zurich
ProfessionMechanical engineer

Political career

On 1 February 1989, he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council. He is affiliated to the Free Democratic Party (Liberals).

During his time in office he headed the following departments:

He was President of the Confederation twice, in 1995 and again in 2002.

In 1995 Kaspar Villiger apologized on occasion of an official visit by Dan Culler who was an internee in the Wauwilermoos internment camp during World War II. Dwight Mears, a U.S. Army officer, covered the apology in his 2012 PhD thesis on the American internees in Switzerland.[2][3][4][5]

In September 2003, he announced he was to resign on 31 December 2003.

Business career

In 2004, he became member of the board of directors of Nestlé and Swiss Re.

On 15 April 2009, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Swiss banking giant UBS, holding this post until 3 May 2012.[6] His successor was Axel A. Weber.

Other activities

Kaspar Villiger is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization 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 organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

References
  1. https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/de/home/das-efd/der-departementsvorsteher/ueli-maurer/fruehere-departmentsvorsteher.html
  2. Franz Kasperski (2015-09-07). "Abgeschossen von der neutralen Schweiz" (in German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen SRF. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  3. "Forced Landing". climage.ch. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  4. "Gedenkstein für Internierten-Straflager" (in German). Schweiz aktuell. 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  5. Olivier Grivat (2013-02-11). "POW medal recognises US aviators' suffering". swissinfo. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  6. Kaspar Villiger wird neuer UBS-Verwaltungsratspräsident, NZZ Online, 4 March 2009
Political offices
Preceded by
Elisabeth Kopp		 Member of the Swiss Federal Council
1989–2003		 Succeeded by
Hans-Rudolf Merz
Preceded by
Otto Stich		 President of Switzerland
1995		 Succeeded by
Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
Preceded by
Moritz Leuenberger		 President of Switzerland
2002		 Succeeded by
Pascal Couchepin
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