Joseph Deiss | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Deiss in 2010 | |
| President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
| In office 14 September 2010 – 14 September 2011 | |
| Vice President | Mark Lyall Grant |
| Preceded by | Ali Abdussalam Treki |
| Succeeded by | Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser |
| President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 2004 – 31 December 2004 | |
| Vice President | Samuel Schmid |
| Preceded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Schmid |
| Member of the Swiss Federal Council | |
| In office 1 May 1999 – 31 July 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Flavio Cotti |
| Succeeded by | Doris Leuthard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1946-01-18)18 January 1946 (age 79) Fribourg,Switzerland |
| Political party | Christian Democratic People's Party |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Fribourg |
| Profession | Economist |
| Signature |  |
Joseph Deiss (born 18 January 1946) is a Swiss economist and politician who served as aMember of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of theChristian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), he first headed theFederal Department of Foreign Affairs (1999–2002) before transferring to theFederal Department of Economic Affairs (2003–2006). Deiss was electedPresident of the United Nations General Assembly for its65th session in 2010.[1]
Joseph Deiss started his political career in 1981 as a representative of his party in theGrand Council of Fribourg. In 1991 he became the president of the cantonal parliament for one year. Between 1982 and 1996 Deiss assumed the mayorship of his home villageBarberêche.
In 1991 he was elected to theNational Council. From 1995 to 1996 Deiss was vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council. In 1996 he was made president of the committee in charge of the total revision of theSwiss Federal Constitution.
Deiss was elected to theSwiss Federal Council on 11 March 1999, along with his erstwhile colleagueRuth Metzler. Together with Adalbert Durrer and Remigio Ratti, he was one of three official candidates proposed by the CVP/PDC for the seat of retiring Federal CouncillorFlavio Cotti. However, the election became a narrow contest between Deiss andPeter Hess, who was favoured by many conservative representatives. Deiss eventually won after the sixth ballot, by 120 to 119 votes.[2]
In office, he has headed the following departments:
After the failure ofRuth Metzlerto be re-elected in 2003, Metzler challenged him for his seat, but lost by 138 votes to 96. He was subsequently electedPresident of the Confederation for 2004, one year earlier than would have been regular. He became the only remaining representative of the CVP in the Council.
On 27 April 2006 Deiss rather unexpectedly resigned as Federal Councillor.[3] The CVP's seat not being contested by the other parties, he was succeeded by the president of the CVP,Doris Leuthard, who took over from Deiss on 1 August 2006.
Joseph Deiss studied economics and social sciences for his first degree at theUniversity of Fribourg. He continued to complete a doctorate at the same university after which he spent some time doing research atKing's College at theUniversity of Cambridge.
After this period of research Joseph Deiss took on the post of lecturing Economics at the University of Fribourg. In 1983 he was made visiting professor at a number of Swiss universities:ETH Zurich,University of Lausanne andUniversity of Geneva.
From 1993 to 1996 Joseph Deiss acted asNational Price Supervisor. He then returned to the University of Fribourg to become the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. At this time at university, Joseph Deiss was also the chairman of the Board of Directors atSchumacher AG inSchmitten (FR) and chairman of theRaiffeisenbank inHaut-Lac,Courtepin (FR).
In 2009 Joseph Deiss was awarded an honorary degreeDoctor Honoris Causa fromBusiness School Lausanne in recognition of his achievements to reinforce and expand the political and economic position of Switzerland.
Deiss is married and has three sons.
Joseph Deiss is an Honorary Member ofThe International Raoul Wallenberg FoundationJoseph Deiss is an Honorary Member ofAFIS Swiss International Civil Servants Association
| Positions in intergovernmental organisations | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the United Nations General Assembly 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1999-2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Swiss Confederation 2004 | Succeeded by |
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