Walter Thurnherr
Walter Thurnherr is the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland since 1 January 2016.Biography
Born in Muri, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the ETH Zürich. 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 Joseph 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.He stood for election to succeed Corina Casanova as Federal Chancellor of Switzerland on 9 December 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in ninety years, and was elected by the Swiss Federal Assembly with 230 votes. He assumed office on 1 January 2016.
