Berset continues Swiss tradition on the world stage
Published: Wednesday, Sep 11th 2024, 10:10
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Alain Berset, a Swiss national, will take office at international level on September 18. He is not the first Swiss to venture onto the international stage. Before him, Swiss nationals held leading positions at the UN and in sports associations, among others.
After his time in the Federal Council, Joseph Deiss from Fribourg was President of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) for one year from September 2010 to September 2011. He thus assumed the "highest function ever held by a Swiss within the UN", as can be read in the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (HLS).
Unlike the UN Secretary-General, the holder of the UN's formally highest office has no decision-making power. He sets the agenda, chairs the two-week general debate and all special sessions that are scheduled throughout the year.
At the head of UN organizations
Within the UN, Swiss nationals have headed various organizations. Since 2020, Philippe Lazzarini has been Secretary-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In this role, he is responsible for protecting and supporting Palestinian refugees.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023 between Israel and the Hamas group, UNRWA has been the focus of international attention. Before Lazzarini, a Swiss national, Pierre Krähenbühl from Geneva, chaired the agency from 2014 to 2019.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is also responsible for refugees. Three Swiss nationals have held this title to date: August R. Lindt (1956-1960), Felix Schnyder (1960-1965) and Jean-Pierre Hocké (1986-1989). The mission of the UNHCR is to find asylum in other countries and offer protection to people fleeing conflict, persecution and human rights violations.
Thomas Greminger, a diplomat from Lucerne, was involved in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He was its Secretary General between 2017 and 2020. In this role, he worked to promote peace in Europe. Specifically, he dealt with the conflict in Ukraine, among other things, and acted as a mediator. Russia's war of aggression could not be prevented.
Swiss at the head of sports associations
The Swiss have also held important positions in international sports federations. For example, Sepp Blatter from Valais presided over the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) from 1998 to 2016. He was succeeded by another Swiss, Gianni Infantino. He is currently still in office.
Former presidents of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Marc Hodler (1951-1998) and Gian Franco Kasper (1998-2021), René Fasel, who presided over the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1994 to 2021, and Charles Thoeni (1956-1966) and Arthur Gander (1966-1976), who each led the International Gymnastics Federation for ten years, should also be mentioned.
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