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Swiss Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga, 2019. Photo by Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Simonetta Sommaruga

Simonetta Sommaruga is a Swiss politician. She was born on 14 May 1960. Simonetta has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2010.

The Federal Council is the executive body, made up of 7 members, that collectively heads the Swiss Confederation. The Presidential position rotates yearly among the seven.

Simonetta served as the President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and 2020. She also served as Vice President of Switzerland in 2014 and 2019.

She is a member of the Social Democratic Party and is one of the two members of the party in the Federal Council.

Here are the top 10 fascinating facts about Simonetta Sommaroga.

1. Simonetta attended the Lucerne School of Music and trained as a pianist

She was born in Zug and grew up with her 3 siblings in Sins, Aargau. She attended Immensee, Schwyz for her preparatory high school education.

She then went to Lucerne University, where she trained as a pianist at the Lucerne School of Music. It is a division of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

 Its alumni include jazz pianist Luzia von Wyl, and organist Andreas Reize. Andreas was appointed Thomanskantor on 11 September 2021, to become the 18^th director of music in charge of the internationally famous Thomanerchor boys’ choir in Leipzig.

Simonetta attended the University of Fribourg from 1988 to 1991 for English and Romance studies. She, however, did not graduate.

2. She is a former Director of the Consumer Protection Foundation

Simonetta Sommaruga. Photo by Stefano Spinelli.

From 1993 to 1999, Simonetta was the director of the Consumer Protection Foundation (German: Stiftung fur Konsumentenschutz). This would later merge with the umbrella Swiss Alliance of Consumer Organisations in 2010.

 The position earned her recognition in the German-speaking part of Switzerland since this is where it was active. She went on to serve as president of the foundation from 2000 to 2010.

She was also patron of SAFFA 2020 (Swiss Exhibition For Women’s Work), alongside then-Federal Councilors Doris Leuthard and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

 3. She launched her political career in 1981

She served as a member of the Grand Council of Bern from 1981 to 1990. It is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern, one of the 25 cantons of Switzerland.

The cantons are member states of the Confederation. Bern happens to be the de facto capital of Switzerland as well. It is the second largest canton, with ten districts.

Simonetta then served in the municipal government of Koniz from 1997 to 2005.

4. Simonetta served in the Council of States

Simonetta Sommaruga. Photo by Ludovic Peron.

While still serving in the municipal government of Koniz, she was elected to the National Council in 1999. It is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. It is the larger one.

In 2003, she became a member of the upper house, the Council of States. She was a representative of the Canton of Bern.

The Council of States comprises 46 members, with 20 counties being represented by two councilors each, and the remaining 6 being represented by one councilor each for historical reasons.  The councilors serve for 4 years, having been elected democratically by their cantons.

5. She announced her candidacy for the Federation Council in 2010

The Federal Council is the executive body of the federal government of Switzerland, officially known as the Swiss Confederation. Comprising 7 members, it serves as the collective head of state and government.

Simonetta announced her candidacy on 11 August 2010 to succeed fellow Social Democratic Party member Moritz Leuenberger who had announced his resignation. On 22 September 2010, she was elected to the Council. She was eventually elected for a full four-year term in 2011.

6. She has been reelected twice

From left, Chantal Tauxe, Alain Jeannet and Simonetta Sommaruga at the 2012 Forum Conference. Photo by Ludovic Peron.

The term of councilors at the Federal Council is 4 years. Having been elected for a full term in 2011, Simonetta sought reelection in the 2015 elections. 

It was held on 9 December. She won to serve for another term from 2016-2020. In 2019, she again successfully sought reelection to the Council for 2020-2024. She is currently serving.

7. Simonetta was elected as Vice President of Switzerland in 2013

On 4 December 2013, she was elected as Vice President by the Federal Assembly for the year 2014. She was elected alongside Didier Burkhalter, who was elected as President.

The position rotates among the 7 councilors of the Federal Council. She would later be reelected on 1 January 2019 for the same position, alongside President Ueli Maurer.

8. She has served as President of the Swiss Confederation twice

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev met with Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga in Davos, 2020. Photo by President.az.

On 3 December 2014, Simonetta was elected as President of the Swiss Confederation for the year 2015. Johann Schneider-Ammann was elected as her Vice President.

Her first international presidential trip was to Â鶹APP. There she joined the Republican marches of 11 January 2015 for defending the freedom of speech. This was following the Charlie Hebdo shooting by Islamic terrorists.  

She served until 31 December 2015, when she was succeeded by Schneider-Ammann. Simonetta would then serve as Vice President in 2019 under President Ueli Maurer.

In 2020, she again became President of the Swiss Confederation. Guy Parmelin succeeded her in 2021.

9. She has headed two Federal Departments

Official photo of the Swiss Federal Council 2020. Photo by Annette Boutellier.

Each member of the Federal Council heads one of the seven federal executive departments. Simonetta has headed the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications since 2019. 

It is composed of several offices with its headquarters being in Bern. It was formed in 1848. Before this, she was head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police from 2010 to 2018. It is now headed by Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter since 2019.

10. She is married to writer Lukas Hartmann

Author Lukas Hartmann. Photo by Library Am Guisanplatz.

Hartmann is a Swiss novelist and children’s writer. He is well known in German-speaking countries. His famous books, Anna-annA and Pestalozzi’s Berg have been made into films. Hartmann and Simonetta got married in 1996.

She is also a distant relative of  Swiss former diplomat and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Cornelio Sommaruga, and his son, fellow politician of the Social Democratic Party, Carlo Sommaruga.