Former President and Foreign Minister of Switzerland, professor, Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva
Micheline Calmy-Rey is currently a visiting professor at the Global Studies Institute, at the University of Geneva. She is the former President and Former Foreign Minister of Switzerland.
She was a member of the Geneva Parliament from 1981 to 1997 for the Social Democratic Party. During her term of office, she was President of the Grand Council and Chair of its Finance Committee. In 1997, she became State Councilor of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, in charge of the Finance Department. She was President of the Council of State from 2001 to 2002. She is a member of the Board of Directors of BCGE (Banque cantonale de Genève) and the SNB (Swiss National Bank).
On 4 December 2002, she was elected Federal Councillor, a position she held until the end of 2011. As head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, she was committed to broadening Switzerland’s relations with the European Union. She promoted a stronger international Swiss presence and pursued a policy of active neutrality, promoting peace, respect for human rights and the fight against poverty. Among the highlights of her policy were the launch of the Geneva Initiative, her decisive contribution to the establishment of the Human Rights Council, the independence of Kosovo, and the mediations between Armenia and Turkey.
In 2007 and 2011, Micheline Calmy-Rey was President of the Swiss Confederation. She chaired the Council of Europe in 2010 and the Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie in 2010 and 2011.
Ms. Calmy-Rey is Doctor honoris causa of the International University of Geneva (IUG). She is a member of the Board of the International Crisis Group, Geneva Call, the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development and the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and chairs the Martin Ennals Awards Foundation.
After a commercial school-leaving certificate, she continued her studies at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and obtained a master’s degree in political science.