Karin Keller-Sutter

Karin Keller-Sutter
Karin Keller-Sutter
	Official portrait, 2024
Vice President of Switzerland
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 January 2024
President	Viola Amherd
Preceded by	Viola Amherd
Swiss Federal Councillor
	Incumbent
	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	22 December 1963 (age 60); Uzwil, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Political party	Free Democratic Party (until 2009); FDP.The Liberals (since 2009)
Spouse	Morten Keller (m. 1989)
Residence(s)	Wil, St. Gallen
Alma mater	Zurich University of Applied Sciences; University of Fribourg
Signature
Website	Federal Department of Finance website

Karin Keller-Sutter (German pronunciation: [ˈkaːʁiːn ˈkɛlər ˈzʊtər]; born 22 December 1963) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2019. A member of FDP.The Liberals, she is the head of the Federal Department of Finance. Keller-Sutter previously served as President of the Council of States for the 2017–2018 term, and has served as vice president of Switzerland for the 2024 term since 1 January.

Biography

Early career

Karin Keller-Sutter lived her childhood in Wil before moving to Neuchâtel. She studied language interpretation at Dolmetscherschule Zurich in Zürich (now the School of Applied Linguistics at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences). She then worked in a private capacity while studying political science in London and Montreal. She also achieved a pedagogy post-grad from the University of Fribourg and worked as a teacher in a professional school. Keller-Sutter is a former vice president of the board of trustees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies.^[1]

Political career

Keller-Sutter undertook a political career as a municipal councillor in Wil between 1992 and 2000. She presided the municipal assembly in 1997. From 1996 to 2000, she was a deputy of the Kantonsrat of the canton of St. Gallen, while presiding the local arm of the FDP.

On 12 March 2000, Keller-Sutter was elected to the Regierungsrat 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 the government in 2006–2007.

On 22 September 2010, Keller-Sutter was a candidate for the Swiss Federal Council to succeed Hans-Rudolf Merz but failed to win the election; Johann Schneider-Ammann, a member of the National Council for the canton of Bern since 1999, won the seat instead.^[2] On 23 October 2011, she was elected with 65% of the vote to represent the canton of St. Gallen in the Council of States. She served as President of the Council of States in 2017–2018.

On 8 October 2018, she once again announced her candidacy for Swiss Federal Council, this time for the seat of recently retired Schneider-Ammann, who had defeated her eight years before.^[3] On 5 December 2018, she was elected for the Federal Council with 154 votes out of 237, alongside Viola Amherd of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC).^[4]

Personal life

Keller-Sutter is married to Morton Keller, a doctor.^[5]

Notes and references

^ International Students' Committee, Board of Trustees Archived 22 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ « La conseillère d'État saint-galloise Karin Keller-Sutter candidate à la succession de Hans-Rudolf Merz », tsrinfo.ch, 19 août 2010 Archived 15 January 2013 at archive.today
^ "Karin Keller-Sutter kandidiert für den Bundesrat". Blick. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ SA, Agefi. "Karin Keller-Sutter élue par 154 voix au Conseil fédéral". www.agefi.com (in French). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ "Der Arzt an ihrer Seite". 20 December 2020.

External links

Karin Keller-Sutter's website

Political offices
Preceded by Ivo Bischofberger	President of the Council of States 2017–2018	Succeeded by Jean-René Fournier
Preceded by Johann Schneider-Ammann	Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2019–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Simonetta Sommaruga	Head of the Department of Justice and Police 2019–2022	Succeeded by Élisabeth Baume-Schneider
Preceded by Ueli Maurer	Head of the Department of Finance 2023–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Viola Amherd	Vice President of Switzerland 2024	Incumbent