Vera Michalski

Vera Michalski-Hoffmann (born 5 November 1954, in Basel) is a Swiss publisher. She is the president of several publishing houses in Switzerland, France and Poland, grouped together in a holding company, Libella SA, based in Lausanne. Dedicated philanthropist, she also spearheaded the Jan Michalski Foundation in Montricher.

Until the age of 16, Vera Hoffmann (of Swiss and Austrian origines) lived in Camargue, at the Tour du Valat research facility, 28 km from Arles. At that time, the centre’s activities included an agricultural dimension and its electricity was supplied by a generator. Her father, Luc Hoffmann (1923–2016), founded the centre. Equipped with a PhD in zoology, he dedicated much of his time, thoughts and funds to preserving and protecting nature. In 1961, he and Peter Scott, son of the famous South Pole explorer, founded the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Now supported by the family’s MAVA Foundation, this research centre has become an important international hub for the conservation and study of Mediterranean wetlands. The Foundation, which owns nearly 2,500 hectares of wetlands in the Camargue region, is responsible for protecting the area.

During her childhood, Vera Hoffmann attended a school created by her parents and accredited by the French authorities. Approximately 14 children, including Vera’s two sisters and one brother, were schooled there. Most of them were children of people who worked at the ornithological facility, along with a few neighbours.

Vera’s mother, Daria Razumovsky, was the descendant of Russian immigrants who fled their homeland during the Russian Revolution. The story of her grandmother’s childhood (from 1914 to 1919) was published and translated in 1990. In 2004, the diary kept by Vera’s mother and two aunts was also published.

Vera studied at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva where she began working on her thesis entitled “Le phénomène des compagnons de route du communisme en France, de 1928 à 1939” (The phenomenon of Communism’s road companions in France from 1928 to 1939”). However, she decided to interrupt her doctorate studies to focus on publishing.

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