Christoph Blocher
| Christoph Blocher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Former Member of the Swiss Federal Council From: January 1, 2004 – December 31, 2007 | |||
| Predecessor | Ruth Metzler | ||
| Successor | Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Swiss People's Party | ||
| Spouse(s) | Silvia Blocher | ||
| Religion | Swiss Reformed | ||
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Christoph Blocher (born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss businessman and politician. He is best known for his prominent and influential role in the Swiss People's Party and for his membership on the Swiss Federal Council.
Early life
The son of a pastor, Blocher was born in 1940, the seventh of eleven children.[1]
Blocher served in the Swiss military, achieving the rank of Colonel.[2][3]
Business career
Blocher started working at EMS-Chemie, "a maker of adhesives and coatings for the engineering and automotive industries",[1] in 1969 as a student in its legal department.[4][5] In 1972, Blocher was voted Chairman of the Board and CEO of the company, and in 1983, he purchased a majority of EMS-Chemie.[4][5]
When Blocher was voted into the Swiss Federal Council in 2003, he retired from all business functions in EMS and sold his majority holding with his four children on Dcemeber 30, 2003.[4][5] Blocher's oldest daughter, Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, became CEO of EMS on January 1, 2004.[4][5]
Political career
Blocher served as a member of the Swiss National Council, the lower house, from November 25, 1979 until December 12, 2003, when he was elected to the Federal Council, and again from December 4, 2011 until May 30, 2014.[3]
Personal life
Blocher is married and has three daughters (Magdalena, Miriam, Rahel), a son (Markus), and eleven grandchildren.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Copley, Caroline & Bart, Katharina (February 1, 2015). "Right-Wing Firebrand Shakes Up Cosy Swiss Politics". The Star. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Personal information. Blocher.ch. Retrieved on January 27, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Christoph Blocher. parlament.ch. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 EMS Company History. EMS-Chemie (1 January 2015). Retrieved on 17 August 2015.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Swiss Chemical Conglomerate Mints Three Billionaire Sisters. Forbes.com (December 13, 2013). Retrieved on January 27, 2016.