Karin Keller-Sutter | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| President of Switzerland | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2025 | |
| Vice President | Guy Parmelin |
| Preceded by | Viola Amherd |
| Vice President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024 | |
| President | Viola Amherd |
| Preceded by | Viola Amherd |
| Succeeded by | Guy Parmelin |
| Swiss Federal Councillor | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2019 | |
| Department | Justice and Police (2019–2022) Finance (2023–) |
| Preceded by | Johann Schneider-Ammann |
| President of the Council of States | |
| In office 27 November 2017 – 26 November 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ivo Bischofberger |
| Succeeded by | Jean-René Fournier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Karin Maria Sutter (1963-12-22)22 December 1963 (age 61) |
| Political party | Free Democratic Party(until 2009) FDP.The Liberals (since 2009) |
| Spouse | |
| Residence(s) | Wil,St. Gallen |
| Alma mater | Zurich University of Applied Sciences University of Fribourg |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Federal Department of Finance website |
Karin Maria Keller-Sutter[1] (Swiss Standard German:[ˈkaːriːnˈkɛlərˈzʊtər];néeSutter; born 22 December 1963) is a Swiss politician andpedagogist who has served asPresident of the Swiss Confederation since 2025 and concurrently as a member of theFederal Council of Switzerland since 2019.
Keller-Sutter is a member ofThe Liberals and serves as the head of theFederal Department of Finance.[2] She previously served on theCouncil of States (Switzerland) from 2011 to 2019 and from 2017 to 2018 aspresident of the Council of States. Before that she held several political roles on the cantonal and municipal level.
In 2023, Keller-Sutter was listed as one of the most influential women worldwide by theFinancial Times.[3] She was primarily credited for her engagement with theAcquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS.
Keller-Sutter was born Karin Maria Sutter on 22 December 1963 inUzwil, Switzerland, the youngest of four children, to Walter Sutter Sr. (died 1989), a butcher-turned-chef, and Rosa Sutter (née Schnyder; born 1927).[4][5] Her brothers are; Walter "Jesy" Sutter (1950–2025),[6] Rolf Sutter and Bernhard Sutter.[7]
Her paternal family hails fromJonschwil where her parents were the tenants of the restaurantSonne for many years. Her ancestors were mainly innkeepers and local politicians inSt. Gallen.[8] Later, her parents took over the restaurantIlge inWil, where she was primarily raised and attended local schools, includingCatholic high school before moving toNeuchâtel.
She studiedlanguage interpretation atDolmetscherschule Zürich (now part of theZurich University of Applied Sciences) followed by studies inpolitical science in London and at theUniversity of Montréal. Later she completed apost-graduate diploma inpedagogy at theUniversity of Fribourg.
During her studies, Keller-Sutter worked as an independent translator and conference interpreter. She later became a professor at thevocational school. Keller-Sutter has formerly served as vice president of the board of trustees of theSt. Gallen Foundation for International Studies.[9]
Keller-Sutter joined the FDP in 1987.[10] She undertook a political career as a municipal councillor in Wil between 1992 and 2000. She presided over the municipal assembly in 1997. From 1996 to 2000, she was a deputy of theKantonsrat of thecanton of St. Gallen, while presiding over the local arm of the FDP.
On 12 March 2000, Keller-Sutter was elected to theRegierungsrat of the canton of St. Gallen, where she was appointed to the department for security and justice. She was also vice president of the conference of cantonal directors for justice and police. She presided over the government in 2006–2007.
On 22 September 2010, Keller-Sutter was a candidate for theSwiss Federal Council to succeedHans-Rudolf Merz but failed to win the election;Johann Schneider-Ammann, a member of theNational Council for thecanton of Bern since 1999,won the seat instead.[11] On 23 October 2011, she waselected[10] with 65% of the vote to represent the canton of St. Gallen in theCouncil of States. She served aspresident of the Council of States in 2017–2018.
On 8 October 2018, Keller-Sutter again announced her candidacy for the Swiss Federal Council, this time for the seat of recently retired Schneider-Ammann, who had defeated her eight years before.[12] On 5 December 2018, she waselected for the Federal Council with 154 votes out of 237, alongsideViola Amherd of theChristian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC).[13]
On 1 January 2025, Keller-Sutter was sworn in as president withGuy Parmelin as acting vice president.[14]
In August 2025, Keller-Sutter came under scrutiny after a call with PresidentDonald Trump about trade tariffs resulted in 39% import tariffs for Switzerland.[15]
In 1989, Keller-Sutter married Dr. med. Morten Keller (born 1964), a medical doctor.[16] They have no children and reside inWil, St. Gallen. The couple owned aJack Russell Terrier namedPicasso, afterPablo Picasso.[17] The dog died in 2019.[18]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the Council of States 2017–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Head of theDepartment of Justice and Police 2019–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head of theDepartment of Finance 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Vice President of Switzerland 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Viola Amherd | President of Switzerland 2025 | Incumbent |
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