 pascal couchepin (born 5 april 1942 in martigny, valais) is a swiss politician, former member of the swiss federal council (1998â2009) and president of the confederation in 2003 and 2008. he headed the federal department of home affairs (swiss interior ministry) from 2003 to 2009. he was elected to the swiss federal council on 11 march 1998 as a member of the free democratic party (fdp/prd) and the canton of valais. in 1998 he took over the federal department of economic affairs, in which position he fought against the swiss government contributing any money to the $1.25 billion settlement between swiss banks and holocaust survivors. he was quoted as saying that "there is no reason for the swiss government to pay anything", as a government commission had shown "we did what was possible in the hard times of the war.".new york times in 2003 he moved to the [[department
1942_births Free_Democratic_Party_of_Switzerland_politicians Living_people Members_of_the_Swiss_Federal_Council People_from_Martigny Swiss_Roman_Catholics University_of_Lausanne_alumni