Kaspar Villiger | |
|---|---|
 Villiger in 2002 | |
| Member of the Swiss Federal Council | |
| In office 1 February 1989 – 31 December 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Elisabeth Kopp |
| Succeeded by | Hans-Rudolf Merz |
| President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 1995 – 31 December 1995 | |
| Vice President | Jean-Pascal Delamuraz |
| Preceded by | Otto Stich |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Pascal Delamuraz |
| In office 1 January 2002 – 31 December 2002 | |
| Vice President | Pascal Couchepin |
| Preceded by | Moritz Leuenberger |
| Succeeded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Minister of the Military | |
| In office 1 February 1989 – 31 December 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Arnold Koller |
| Succeeded by | Adolf Ogi |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 1 January 1996 – 31 December 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Otto Stich |
| Succeeded by | Hans-Rudolf Merz |
| 4th Vice President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 2001 – 31 December 2001 | |
| President | Moritz Leuenberger |
| Preceded by | Moritz Leuenberger |
| Succeeded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1941-02-05)5 February 1941 (age 85) |
| Party | Free Democratic Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Old Cantonal School Aarau ETH Zurich |
| Profession | Mechanical engineer |
Kaspar Villiger[1] (/fiːlɪɡɛr/FEELIGER; born 5 February 1941) is a Swiss businessman, former tobacco manufacturer and politician. He served as a member of theFederal Council (Switzerland) since 1 February 1989 forThe Liberals. Villiger served two terms asPresident of the Swiss Confederation in 1995 and again in 2002. He previously served on theCouncil of States (Switzerland) from 1987 to 1989 and on the National Council (Switzerland) from 1982 to 1987.[2]
Villiger was best known for his involvement into theSwissair bankruptcy in 2001, when he was among the members of the rescue plan task force, which ultimately failed.[3][4] Between 2009 and 2012, Villiger was appointed chairman ofUBS.[5][6][7] He has also served on the board of directors atNestlé,[8]Swiss Re[9] andNeue Zürcher Zeitung.[10] He currently is the chairman of the UBS Foundation of Economics in Society, which invested 100 million Swiss Francs in the Department of Economics at theUniversity of Zürich.[11] He was a founding member of theGlobal Leadership Foundation in 2004.[12]
Villiger was born 5 February 1941 inPfeffikon, Switzerland to Max and Dory (née Heiz) Villiger. He was the grandson of Jean Villiger (1860–1902),[13] who founded the tobacco manufacturing concernVilliger Sons in 1888. He had one elder brother, Heinrich (1930–2025),[14][15] and sister Monika (born 1936).[16]
He was raised inPfeffikon and completed hisMatura inAarau. He then studiedMechanical Engineering at theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology inZürich graduating in 1965.[17]
In 1966, he entered the family business, after the sudden death of his father Max Villiger (1897–1966) alongside his elder brotherHeinrich Villiger, who was responsible for theGerman market and his sister Monika Villiger, who was export director. He integrated bicycle manufacturerKalt inButtisholz and developed it under the newVilliger name. Villiger was also the vice president of theChamber of Commerce of Central Switzerland, several years a member on the board committee of theAssociation of Employers in Central Switzerland and vice president of theArgovian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
In 2004, he became member of the board of directors ofNestlé andSwiss Re. On 15 April 2009, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Swiss banking giantUBS, holding this post until 3 May 2012.[18] His successor wasAxel A. Weber.
On 1 February 1989, he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council. He is affiliated to theFree Democratic Party (Liberals).
During his time in office he headed the following departments:
He wasPresident of the Confederation twice, in 1995 and again in 2002.
In 1995 Kaspar Villiger apologized on occasion of an official visit by Dan Culler who was an internee in theWauwilermoos internment camp during World War II. Dwight Mears, a U.S. Army officer, covered the apology in his 2012 PhD thesis on the American internees in Switzerland.[20][21][22][23]
In September 2003, he announced he was to resign on 31 December 2003.
Kaspar Villiger is a Member of theGlobal Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1989–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Switzerland 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Switzerland 2002 | Succeeded by |
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