Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf | |
---|---|
President of Switzerland | |
In office 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012 |
|
Vice President | Ueli Maurer |
Preceded by | Micheline Calmy-Rey |
Succeeded by | Ueli Maurer |
Vice President of Switzerland | |
In office 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2011 |
|
President | Micheline Calmy-Rey |
Preceded by | Micheline Calmy-Rey |
Succeeded by | Ueli Maurer |
Head of the Department of Finance | |
In office 1 November 2010 – 31 December 2015 |
|
Preceded by | Hans-Rudolf Merz |
Succeeded by | Ueli Maurer |
Head of the Department of Justice and Police | |
In office 1 January 2008 – 31 October 2010 |
|
Preceded by | Christoph Blocher |
Succeeded by | Simonetta Sommaruga |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | |
In office 1 January 2008 – 31 December 2015 |
|
Preceded by | Christoph Blocher |
Succeeded by | Guy Parmelin |
Personal details | |
Born |
Felsberg, Switzerland |
16 March 1956
Political party |
Swiss People's Party (Before 2008) Conservative Democratic Party (2008–present) |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of Zurich |
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (born 16 March 1956) is a Swiss lawyer, politician, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2008 to 2015. She was the head of the Federal Department of Finance (the Swiss finance minister). She served as President of the Swiss Confederation for the year 2012.
Widmer-Schlumpf is married and has three children. She is the daughter of former federal councillor Leon Schlumpf. She is the second federal councillor whose father had held the same office, after Eugène Ruffy, and the sixth woman to be elected to the Swiss Federal Council. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is also patron of the project SAFFA 2020, alongside the federal councillors (Bundesrat) Doris Leuthard, Simonetta Sommaruga and the former councillor (aBR) Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Widmer-Schlumpf received her degree in law at the University of Zürich in 1981 and her LLD in 1990. She worked as a lawyer from 1987 to 1998. She was elected to the district court of Trin in 1985, presiding from 1991 to 1997. As a member of the Swiss People's Party, she was the cantonal legislative of Grisons 1994 to 1998, and in 1998 was elected to the cantonal government as the first woman, acting as president in 2001 and 2005.
Widmer-Schlumpf was named as an alternative candidate to Christoph Blocher by the Christian Democrat, Social Democrat and Green fractions in the Swiss Federal Council elections of 12 December 2007. In the first round, she received 116 votes, compared to 111 votes for Blocher. In the second round, she was elected federal councillor with 125 votes, 115 votes going to Blocher and 6 spurious, empty or invalid. She accepted her election on 13 December 2007. She assumed Blocher's old portfolio as head of the Department of Justice and Police.