Hans-Rudolf Merz
| Hans-Rudolf Merz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the Swiss Federal Council | |
| In office 1 January 2004 – 1 November 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Kaspar Villiger |
| Succeeded by | Johann Schneider-Ammann |
| President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2009 |
|
| Vice President | Doris Leuthard |
| Preceded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Succeeded by | Doris Leuthard |
| Vice President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 2008 – 31 December 2008 |
|
| President | Pascal Couchepin |
| Preceded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Succeeded by | Doris Leuthard |
| Head of the Federal Department of Finance | |
| In office 1 January 2004 – 1 November 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Kaspar Villiger |
| Succeeded by | Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 November 1942 Herisau, Switzerland |
| Political party | FDP.The Liberals |
| Spouse(s) | Roswitha Merz |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of St. Gallen |
| Profession | Management consultant |
| Religion | Swiss Reformed |
Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals and former member of the Swiss Federal Council. He was the head of the Federal Department of Finance (the Swiss finance minister) from 2004 to 2010 and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009. On 6 August 2010 Merz announced his resignation for October 2010.[1]
Born in Herisau, Switzerland, he studied at Hochschule St. Gallen and graduated in 1971 with a DEA's degree and as Dr. rer. publ.
Contents
Career
Merz was a Scout, and visited the National Jamboree of Switzerland in July 2008.[2][3] From 1969 to 1974, he was party secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) in St. Gallen. Since 1977 he has worked as a management consultant.
In 1997 he was elected to the Swiss Council of States for the canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes. He presided over the finance committee, and was a member of the foreign policy committee.
Merz was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 10 December 2003. At the time he was on the board of directors of the Helvetia-Patria insurance company and Anova Holding. He was also a member of the board of trustees of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation.
On 20 September 2008, whilst in Eastern Switzerland, Merz was rushed to hospital, having suffered from a heart attack. He was soon flown to Bern University Hospital, where he had a multiple bypass operation. He was also placed into an artificial coma. This led to a reorganisation of the cabinet, and the absence of the Swiss President, Pascal Couchepin from the UN General Assembly in New York.[4]
On 10 December 2008, as the member of the Federal Council that hasn't been its president for the longest time, Merz was elected President of the Confederation for 2009. In parliament, the 66-year-old received 185 out of 209 valid votes. He succeeded Free Democratic Party colleague Pascal Couchepin. Doris Leuthard was elected vice-president.
On 20 September 2010, a recording of Merz replying to a question about meat imports in Parliament[5] became a viral video, drawing international attention. Merz convulsed with laughter when reading the dense bureaucratic language of the reply drafted for him by customs officials.[6] He was supposed to provide information if the sales of e.g. Bündnerfleisch in Switzerland is endangered by meat imports.[7]
He is married, and a father of three sons.
Works
- Merz, Hans-Rudolf: Finanz- und Verwaltungsvermögen in öffentlich-rechtlicher und wirtschaftlicher Betrachtungsweise, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Staatsrechnungen der Kantone., St. Gallen 1971
- Merz, Hans-Rudolf: Die aussergewöhnliche Führungspersönlichkeit: Essay über Elativität und elative Persönlichkeit., Grüsch 1987. ISBN 3-7253-0297-9
- Merz, Hans-Rudolf: Der Landammann und weitere Erzählungen aus dem Appenzellerland, Herisau 1992. ISBN 3-85882-072-5
References
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- Profile of Hans-Rudolf Merz with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council.
- Biography of Hans-Rudolf Merz on the website of the Swiss Parliament. (German)
- Hans-Rudolf Merz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hans-Rudolf Merz. |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2004–2010 |
Succeeded by Johann Schneider-Ammann |
| Preceded by | President of Switzerland 2009 |
Succeeded by Doris Leuthard |
| 1848–1874 |
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| 1925–1949 | ||
| 1950–1974 | ||
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| 2000–present | ||
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| About | ||
| Lists of members | ||
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- ↑ Merz klebt auf dem Bündnerfleisch
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- HDS different on Wikidata
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- 1942 births
- Living people
- FDP.The Liberals politicians
- Members of the Swiss Federal Council
- People from Appenzell Ausserrhoden
- Scouting and Guiding in Switzerland
- Swiss Protestants
- University of St. Gallen alumni
