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 (SVP) 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]
Blocher was a successful businessman, and when he was a member of the Federal Council, he was worth about $1.4 billion, the ninth wealthiest person in Switzerland..[6]
Political career
Blocher has state that "he fell into politics by chance following a local zoning dispute."[1] He became the chairman of the Zürich canton chapter of the SVP, and in 1979 he was elected to the Swiss National Council, the lower legislative chamber.[6]
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][7]
In 1986, Blocher "led and financed" a campaign opposed to joining the United Nations.[6] Blocher the successful, as over 75 percent of the Swiss population voted against joining.[8] After the referendum, on June 19, 1986, he and fellow National Councilor Otto Fischer, a member of the FDP, founded the Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland (AUNS), a conservative organization that supports complete Swiss political independence and direct democracy and opposes the erosion of Swiss sovereignty by international organizations.[8] Blocher served as the president of AUNS from its foundation until his election to the Federal Council in 2003.[8][9]
Personal life
Blocher is married and has three daughters, a son, and eleven grandchildren.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 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.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Profile: Christoph Blocher. BBC News. October 15, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ↑ McLean, Morven (May 9, 2014). Christoph Blocher quits ‘bureaucratic’ parliament. The Local. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Geschichte. Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland official website. Retrieved on October 8, 2016.
- ↑ ‘We’re Not the Only EU Sceptics’. Swissinfo (May 15, 2014). Retrieved on April 1, 2016. “Lukas Reimann took over the presidency in April 2014 from 52-year-old Pirmin Schwander, who himself had taken over from Blocher in 2004.”