Élisabeth Baume-Schneider | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Swiss Federal Councillor | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2023 | |
| Department | Justice and Police (2023) Home Affairs (2024–present) |
| Preceded by | Simonetta Sommaruga |
| Member of theSwiss Council of States | |
| Assumed office 2 December 2019 | |
| Constituency | Jura |
| Member of the Government of theCanton of Jura | |
| In office 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2015 | |
| Department | Education (2003–2006) Formation, Culture and Sports (2007–2015) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Élisabeth Schneider (1963-12-24)24 December 1963 (age 61) Saint-Imier, Switzerland |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Pierre-André Baume |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Neuchâtel |
Élisabeth Baume-Schneider (néeSchneider;French pronunciation:[elizabɛtbomʃnajdœʁ,-dɛʁ]; born 24 December 1963) is a Swiss politician who currently serves on theFederal Council (Switzerland) for the Social Democratic Party since 2023.[1] She was elected on 7 December 2022, as the first representative of theCanton of Jura.[2]
Élisabeth Baume-Schneider was born Élisabeth Schneider on 24 December 1963 inSaint-Imier, Switzerland, the youngest of three children, to Jean Schneider (1922–2016), a farmer and local politician inLes Bois.[3][1] Her siblings are; Jean-Claude Schneider and Christiane Heiniger (née Schneider).
Her paternal grandparents were German-speaking from theBerneseSeeland. During her childhood she hated the Bernese dialect spoken at home.[4][5] In the 1980s, her parents lost their farm,Les Mûrs, due to the construction of agolf course.[6]
She graduated from high school inLa Chaux-de-Fonds in 1983 and following she studied social sciences at theUniversity of Neuchâtel. She obtained alicentiate in 1987.[7] Between 1989 and 2002 she worked as a social worker inFranches-Montagnes and later for the cantonal administration ofJura.[7]
In her early political career, she was influenced by the PolishSolidarnosc, her involvement at theAmnesty International and in the Socialist Workers Party, before she eventually joined the Social Democratic Party (SP).[8] in 1995 she became a member of theParliament of Jura over which she presided in 2000.[9] Between December 2002[7] and 2015 she was a member of the government of theCanton of Jura[10] in which she acted as the minister of education culture and sports.[11] As such she was elected as the president of the strategic committee of theHaute École Arc [fr].[11] As an Executive Councilor of Jura, she was involved in the negotiations in transferringMoutier from the majority German speaking Canton Berne to Jura which is a majority francophone canton.[8] She also instituted the bilingualhigh school exam in the canton.[8]
In thefederal elections of 2019, Baume-Schneider was elected to theCouncil of States.[9] In January 2020 she was elected to the advisory council of theFachhochschule.[12] In November 2022, she announced her candidacy to the Federal Council of Switzerland.[13]
On the 7 December 2022, she waselected to the federal council, replacing the previous, retiring federal councillor for the SP,Simonetta Sommaruga.[2] She is the first member of the federal council from the canton of Jura, the youngest of the Swiss cantons. Her election was controversial, as it meant that theGerman-speaking part of Switzerland, which constitutes the majority of the Swiss population, was now underrepresented in the federal council, with only 3 of the 7 councillors hailing from this region.[2] She was assigned to theFederal Departement of Justice and Police in succession of fellow Federal CouncillorKarin Keller-Sutter who became the head of theFederal Department of Finance.[14]
Baume-Schneider married Pierre-André Baume (born 1966) with whom she has two children.[9] They reside on a farm where she where she keepsBlacknose sheep.[8][13]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Head of theDepartment of Justice and Police 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head of theDepartment of Home Affairs 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Current members |  | |
|---|---|---|
| About | ||
| Lists of members | ||
| Lists by department | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
| Other | |
