Hans-Rudolf Merz
| Hans-Rudolf Merz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the Swiss Federal Council | |
|
In office 1 January 2004 – 1 November 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Kaspar Villiger |
| Succeeded by | Johann Schneider-Ammann |
| President of Switzerland | |
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In office 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2009 |
|
| Vice President | Doris Leuthard |
| Preceded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Succeeded by | Doris Leuthard |
| Vice President of Switzerland | |
|
In office 1 January 2008 – 31 December 2008 |
|
| President | Pascal Couchepin |
| Preceded by | Pascal Couchepin |
| Succeeded by | Doris Leuthard |
| Head of the Federal Department of Finance | |
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In office 1 January 2004 – 1 November 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Kaspar Villiger |
| Succeeded by | Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 November 1942 Herisau, Switzerland |
| Political party | FDP.The Liberals |
| Spouse(s) | Roswitha Merz |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of St. Gallen |
| Profession | Management consultant |
| Religion | Swiss Reformed |
Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals and former member of the Swiss Federal Council. He was the head of the Federal Department of Finance (the Swiss finance minister) from 2004 to 2010 and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009. On 6 August 2010 Merz announced his resignation for October 2010.
Born in Herisau, Switzerland, he studied at Hochschule St. Gallen and graduated in 1971 with a DEA's degree and as Dr. rer. publ.
Merz was a Scout, and visited the National Jamboree of Switzerland in July 2008. From 1969 to 1974, he was party secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) in St. Gallen. Since 1977 he has worked as a management consultant.
In 1997 he was elected to the Swiss Council of States for the canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes. He presided over the finance committee, and was a member of the foreign policy committee.
Merz was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 10 December 2003. At the time he was on the board of directors of the Helvetia-Patria insurance company and Anova Holding. He was also a member of the board of trustees of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation.
On 20 September 2008, whilst in Eastern Switzerland, Merz was rushed to hospital, having suffered from a heart attack. He was soon flown to Bern University Hospital, where he had a multiple bypass operation. He was also placed into an artificial coma. This led to a reorganisation of the cabinet, and the absence of the Swiss President, Pascal Couchepin from the UN General Assembly in New York.
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