| Christoph Blocher | |
 | |
| In office 1 January 2004 – 31 December 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Ruth Metzler |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |
| In office 1 January 2004 – 31 December 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Ruth Metzler |
| Succeeded by | Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |
| Born | 11 October 1940 Schaffhausen, Switzerland |
| Political party | SVP |
| Spouse | Silvia Blocher |
Christoph Blocher (born 11 October 1940, Schaffhausen, Switzerland) is a Swiss politician, industrialist, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police (2004-2007). Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Schaffhausen ( German:) is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in The Swiss Federal Council (Schweizerischer Bundesrat Conseil fédéral suisse Consiglio federale svizzero Cussegl federal The Federal Department of Justice and Police ( French: Département fédéral de justice et police, German: Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement Currently he is serving as Vice President of the Swiss People's Party. __FORCETOC__ For the Vice President of the United States, their roles and other information see Vice President of the United States. The Swiss People's Party (SVP also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC is a Political party in Switzerland. As an industrialist, he made a fortune in the chemical industry with the EMS-Chemie corporation.
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Family
He is married to the former Silvia Kaiser; they have three daughters and a son.
Education
Blocher earned a certificate at the Wülflingen school of agriculture, then studied law at the University of Zürich, in Montpellier and in Paris. The University of Zurich ( German: Universität Zürich) located in the city of Zurich, is the largest University in Switzerland Montpellier ( Occitan Montpelhièr) is a City in the south of France. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city He has a DEA degree in law, and in 1971, he was awarded a doctorate in jurisprudence. A doctorate is an Academic degree that indicates the highest level of academic achievement Jurisprudence is the Theory and Philosophy of Law. Scholars of jurisprudence or legal philosophers hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature
Political career
Blocher built his political career through campaigning for smaller government, for a free-market economy, against Switzerland's membership in the European Union and for more tightly controlled immigration. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term He represented the canton of Zürich in the Swiss National Council from 1980 until his election to the federal council in 2003 as a deputy of the Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei/Union démocratique du centre; SVP/UDC). The Canton of Zürich (German Kanton) has a population of about 1 The National Council of Switzerland (Nationalrat Conseil National Consiglio Nazionale Cussegl Naziunal is the larger Chamber of the parliament with 200 seats The Swiss People's Party (SVP also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC is a Political party in Switzerland. In addition to the Zürich chapter of the Swiss People's Party, he led a mass organisation, the Action for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland (Aktion für eine unabhängige und neutrale Schweiz). He has frequently been compared by the media and his political opponents to figures such as Jean-Marie Le Pen and Jörg Haider. Jean-Marie Le Pen (born June 20, 1928, La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France) is a French far-right Nationalist Jörg Haider (January 26 1950 – October 11 2008 was an Austrian politician
Blocher is leader of the party's nationalist wing, which dominates the party's delegation to the National Council.
Federal councillor
2003 election
The People's Party emerged as the largest party in the National Council in the Swiss election of 19 October 2003. Legislative elections in the Swiss Confederation were held on 19 October 2003. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Blocher personally topped the poll in Zürich, and became Switzerland's most prominent and controversial politician. Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the
Since 1929, the People's Party (known until 1971 as the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents [BGB]) had held a seat on the seven-member Swiss Federal Council. At the time the current coalition was formed in 1959, the BGB was the smallest party represented on the Council. By 2003, it had become the largest party, and demanded another seat at the expense of the Christian Democrats, now the smallest party. The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (Also called Christian-Democratic Party Christlich Demokratische Volkspartei (CVP Parti Démocrate-Chrétien Suisse The SVP nominated Blocher as its second candidate. This generated a good deal of controversy; previously most SVP councillors came from the party's more moderate centrist-agrarian wing.
After threats of pulling the other People's Party member, Samuel Schmid (a member of the centrist wing), off the council and going into opposition, Blocher was elected on 10 December 2003. Samuel Schmid (born January 8, 1947) has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2000. He took the seat of Ruth Metzler-Arnold, only the third federal councillor in history (and the first since 1872) not to be reelected. Ruth Metzler-Arnold (born May 23, 1964) is a Swiss politician and former Member of the Swiss Federal Council (1999-2003
In the third round Blocher beat Metzler with 121 to 116 votes. [1] The election was anticipated as a major media event (NZZ, 8 December 2003), and widely watched as a live broadcast. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung ( NZZ) is a major German language Swiss daily newspaper based in Zürich. After Blocher's election, there were spontaneous protests by members of the Swiss political Left (Tages-Anzeiger, 12 December 2003). Tages-Anzeiger, also abbreviated Tagi or TA, is a German language Swiss national daily newspaper based in
Controversies
As a result of a reshuffling of Federal Council seats, Blocher became head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police.
During 2004, Blocher's unconventionally unaccommodating stance towards his fellow federal councillors was the cause for speculations about the future of the Swiss concordance system. For other uses see Concordance. In Swiss politics concordance system (German Konkordanzsystem) refers to the presence He was attacked by his colleague Pascal Couchepin in an interview with the NZZ newspaper in the October 3 Sunday edition. Pascal Couchepin (born April 5, 1942) is a Swiss Politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1998 and President of The Neue Zürcher Zeitung ( NZZ) is a major German language Swiss daily newspaper based in Zürich. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's This was unprecedented in Switzerland; members of the Federal Council traditionally do not publicly criticise each other.
The ongoing controversy is also reflected in the scandal resulting from a performance by the artist Thomas Hirschhorn at the Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris on December 5, 2004. Thomas Hirschhorn (born in Bern, May 16 1957) is a Swiss artist Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Hirschhorn, a Swiss, has refused to exhibit anywhere in Switzerland since Blocher's rise to power, and in the performance, which was supported by the publicly funded Pro Helvetia institution, an actor pretended to urinate on an image of Blocher. The resignation of councillor Joseph Deiss in 2006 has been connected in some media reports with the poisoned atmosphere on the council since Blocher's election. Joseph Deiss (born January 18, 1946) is an economist Swiss politician and a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC. This was however not supported by other remaining council members, nor by the then-president, Moritz Leuenberger. Moritz Leuenberger (born 21 September 1946 is a Swiss Politician, Lawyer, member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1995 and President
In a public speech held at his cantonal party's annual Albisgüetlitagung in Zürich on January 20 2006, Blocher labeled two Albanians seeking political asylum as "criminals", although no judicial sentence had been spoken at the time. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Later, when confronted, he claimed before the Swiss Council of States that he had only used the word 'accused'. The Council of States of Switzerland (Ständerat Conseil des Etats Consiglio degli Stati Cussegl dals Stadis is the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland Since the speech had been recorded, he then had to admit that he had mistakenly used the word "criminals". In July 2006, a commission of the Council of States reprimanded Blocher, stating that the setting of false prejudice and making false statement to the Council of States constituted unacceptable behaviour for a Federal Councillor.
On 5 September 2007, a parliamentary committee sharply criticised Blocher for overstepping his mandate in his handling of the resignation of former chief prosecutor Valentin Roschacher in 2006. In addition, documents confiscated in March by the German authorities from private banker Oskar Holenweger under suspicion of money laundering were presented as supporting a possible involvement of Blocher in a plot to oust Roschacher from office. Blocher denied any involvement in such a plan. These developments happened to coincide with a campaign alleging a "secret plan to oust Blocher" initiated by the SVP on 27 August, and party spokesperson S. R. Jäggi on 6 September confirmed that campaign was referring to the documents incriminating Blocher in the Roschacher affair now revealed. [2][3] Tension surrounding the "Blocher-Roschacher affair" was fuelled by the upcoming 2007 federal election. Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday October 21, 2007. On 25 September, the National Council decided to press a debate of the affair before the elections, overturning a decision by the council's office. The National Council of Switzerland (Nationalrat Conseil National Consiglio Nazionale Cussegl Naziunal is the larger Chamber of the parliament with 200 seats
Blocher is still a popular target for the opposition. For example on 18 September 2007, Blocher's appearance at the Comptoir suisse (Swiss fair) in Lausanne was disrupted by protesters. Lausanne ( pronounced, Losanna is a city in Romandy, the French -speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva [4]
2007 non-reelection
In the Swiss Federal Council elections of 12 December 2007, Blocher did not receive the necessary number of votes in the parliament to retain his seat. On December 12, 2007, all seven members of the Federal Council, the government of Switzerland, were elected by the joint chambers of the Federal Assembly In his stead, the parliament elected Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (a moderate SVP member), who accepted the mandate on 13 December 2007. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (born 16 March 1956) is a Swiss lawyer politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2008 Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [5] Blocher thus became the fourth federal councillor to be ousted from office in the history of the Swiss Federal State, following Ruth Metzler whom he had replaced the previous term, besides Ulrich Ochsenbein and Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel in the 19th century. Ruth Metzler-Arnold (born May 23, 1964) is a Swiss politician and former Member of the Swiss Federal Council (1999-2003 Ulrich Ochsenbein ( November 24, 1811 - November 3, 1890) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel ( May 11, 1811 - August 6, 1893) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council
Future
After the extremely large 2007/2008 losses posted by UBS, its chairman Marcel Ospel resigned on April 1st, 2008, and Mr. UBS AG ( SWX: UBSN) is a diversified global financial services company with its main headquarters in Basel & Zürich, Switzerland Marcel Louis Ospel (born February 8, 1950 in Basel) is the outgoing Chairman of the Board of Directors of UBS AG, the largest bank in Switzerland Blocher was rumoured to be considered as his replacement [6][7]. However the role went to Peter Kurer, the bank’s general counsel.
References
- ^ Details of elections to the Federal Council
- ^ Minister accused of involvement in plot, Swissinfo 5 September 2007; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 6 September 2007
- ^ Der geheimste Plan?, WOZ, 6 September 2007
- ^ Comptoir: la manif contre Blocher dégénère, Radio Suisse Romande
- ^ "Swiss MPs reject far-right leader", BBC News, 12 December 2007. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung ( NZZ) is a major German language Swiss daily newspaper based in Zürich. Radio Suisse Romande ( RSR) is an enterprise unit within public-broadcasting corporation SRG SSR idée suisse. Swiss consensus government falls as rightists quit, Reuters, 13 December 2007.
- ^ Christoph Blocher possible candidate to head UBS board
- ^ UBS to call for 16 billion Swiss francs capital hike - report
See also
External links
- Christoph Blocher website (German)
- Profile of Christoph Blocher with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council. The construction of Minarets is as of 2007 a subject of political controversy in Switzerland. The Swiss People's Party (SVP also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC is a Political party in Switzerland. The AUNS ( Aktion für eine unabhängige und neutrale Schweiz "campaign for an independent and neutral Switzerland" in French Action pour une Suisse
- Biography of Christoph Blocher on the website of the Swiss Parliament. (German)
- Q&A / Cristoph Blocher : Swiss Politician Rejects Racist Label
| Preceded by Ruth Metzler | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2004-2007 | Succeeded by Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |
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