Aargau National Councillor Riniker about to be elected Switzerland’s highest-ranking woman
Published: Monday, Nov 25th 2024, 11:40
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Aargau security politician Maja Riniker (FDP) is expected to be elected President of the National Council on December 2. The 46-year-old business economist has been a member of the National Council for five years and is a member of the Security Policy Committee.
In October 2023, the voters of Aargau confirmed Riniker from Suhr near Aarau for a second term in the National Council with a brilliant result. With 177 out of 195 valid votes, she was elected first Vice-President of the National Council in December 2023. Now the 46-year-old Riniker is about to be elected Switzerland's highest-ranking woman.
"Cohesion through diversity"
The motto for her presidential year is "Cohesion through diversity". "For cohesion, it is important that people listen to each other well and make an effort to understand each other," says Riniker in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. She believes it is important to understand the Council members from all language regions. "Switzerland is not just made up of the German-speaking part of Switzerland," she emphasizes and reveals that she has been attending a conversation course to improve her French since entering national politics.
She is looking forward to the many encounters, from ordinary citizens to presidents of parliaments from other countries. As President of the National Council, Riniker will be traveling to the opening of the World Expo in Osaka (Japan), where she will represent official Switzerland.
"Less of a party politician"
She wants to make her home canton of Aargau better known to national and international guests. "Aargau is a bit of a reflection of the diversity of Switzerland because it is made up of different parts."
Riniker's political career began in the traditional way, as a member of the Suhr school council. She joined the Aargau cantonal parliament in 2014 and was elected to the National Council in 2019.
She can also imagine holding an executive office. "It just hasn't come up yet," says Riniker. However, she does not see herself as party president. "I'm primarily a politician, not a party politician."
"The two years of preparation were very valuable," says Riniker about the task ahead. As second and then first Vice-President, she took on various tasks and already represented her predecessor Eric Nussbauer (SP Baselland) in the Council leadership. "It's a challenge to keep the Council under control," she says.
Politician with a gene for security
As a member of Aargau's Grand Council, Riniker was a member and President of the Public Security Commission. "The fact that my father was a militia officer and commander of a tank battalion certainly left its mark on me," she says.
For the President of the Swiss Civil Protection Association, however, security is about much more than the military and civil protection: "That children have a sidewalk to walk to school, that there is a safe working environment in Switzerland, that pensions are secure."
Riniker's greatest political successes - she is a member of the National Council's Security Policy Committee - include better alerting in the event of disasters through cell broadcasting and the fact that Ukraine can be indirectly supported thanks to tank deliveries to third countries. A motion by the passionate scout to extend youth leave from one to two weeks is currently being implemented.
Business economist, wife and mother
Riniker, who grew up in Lenzburg, started her career after completing a commercial apprenticeship at a bank. After further training as a business economist at the University of Applied Sciences, she worked in the healthcare sector, among other things.
Riniker and her husband, a doctor, have two daughters and a son aged between 13 and 17. "They are also interested in politics," she says, "but actually, like all young people of that age, they want their parents to be as normal as possible." That's why she understands if the children don't like it when teachers mention their mother's political involvement in class.
Jogging, skiing, swimming, playing cards
Riniker is active in her free time. "Despite my busy schedule, I want to keep this up during my presidential year," she emphasizes, mentioning that she recently met a Federal Councillor who was also jogging while training early in the morning in Bern. Her favorite place to swim is in the Aare in Aarau. "Although the Aare in Bern also has its charm, of course." In winter, she can be found skiing with her family and regularly plays cards with three good friends.
©Keystone/SDA
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