Walter Thurnherr
Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is a Swiss government official who has served as Chancellor of Switzerland since 2016. Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC). When it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre (DM/LC) in 2021, Thurnherr joined the new party. Biography. Early life. Born in Muri, Aargau, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the ETH Zurich in 1987, before studying mathematics at the University of Bern. In 1989, he joined the ranks of  Switzerland's diplomatic corps. In 2002, he was appointed chief of staff of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs under Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss. The following year, he was named chief of staff of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, first under Pascal Couchepin, then Deiss and finally Doris Leuthard. He followed Leuthard when she took over the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications in 2011 as her chief of staff. Federal Chancellor. He stood for election to succeed Corina Casanova as Chancellor of Switzerland on 9 December 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in 90 years. He  was elected by the Swiss Federal Assembly with 230 votes out of 234. He assumed office on 1 January 2016. He was reelected on 11 December 2019 with 219 votes out of 224.