New Swiss ambassadors

Bern, 14.12.2018 - A number of staff changes have been announced for 2019 for several Swiss representations abroad, the head office of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER). The changes will take place as part of the periodic transfer rotation and on the basis of appointments made by the Federal Council on 14 December 2018. The appointments of heads of mission abroad become effective following approval by the respective host states.

Olivier Bürki, currently head of international cooperation at the Swiss cooperation office in Tbilisi, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Mozambique.

Muriel Peneveyre, currently deputy head of mission in Paris, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkmenistan, based in Baku.

Ivo Sieber, currently head of mission in Bangkok, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Helene Budliger Artieda, currently head of mission in Pretoria, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, based in Bangkok.

Nicolas Brühl, currently head (with the title of ambassador) of the Europe, Central Asia, Council of Europe, OSCE Division in the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Namibia and the Kingdom of Eswatini, based in Pretoria.

Christian Meuwly, currently head of mission in Brussels, will become the new ambassador and permanent representative of Switzerland to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Philippe Brandt, currently head of mission in Antananarivo, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium and head of the Mission of Switzerland to NATO, based in Brussels.

Jacques Pitteloud, currently head (with the title of ambassador) of the Directorate for Resources in Bern, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United States of America.

Michael Winzap, currently head of mission in Kuala Lumpur, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to New Zealand, the Cook Islands, the Republic of Fiji, the Independent State of Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga, and Tuvalu, based in Wellington.

Andrea Reichlin, currently head of mission in Manila, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Malaysia.

Alain Gaschen, currently head of mission in Beijing, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau, based in Manila.

Daniela Stoffel Delprete, currently diplomatic adviser (with the title of ambassador) in the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters at the Federal Department of Finance in Bern, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United Arab Emirates and to the Kingdom of Bahrain, and permanent representative of Switzerland to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), based in Abu Dhabi.

Florence Tinguely Mattli, currently head of mission (job sharing) in Dar es Salaam, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Denmark.

Massimo Baggi, currently head of mission in Rabat, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United Republic of Tanzania and to the Republic of Zambia, and permanent representative of Switzerland to the East African Community (EAC) in Arusha, based in Dar es Salaam.

Guillaume Scheurer, currently head of mission in Kyiv, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Claude Wild, currently ambassador and permanent representative of Switzerland to the OSCE, the United Nations and the international organisations in Vienna, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova, based in Kyiv.

Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart, currently head (with the title of ambassador) of the Middle East and North Africa Division of the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern, will become the new ambassador and head of the Swiss Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and head of Switzerland's Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the international organisations in Vienna.

Anne Lugon-Moulin, currently head (with the title of ambassador) of the Sub-Saharan Africa and Francophonie Division of the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern, will become the new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Guinea, the Republic of Liberia and the Republic of Sierra Leone, based in Abidjan.

Anna Ifkovits Horner, currently deputy head of the Europe, Central Asia, Council of Europe, OSCE Division in the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern, has been appointed head of the same division. The Federal Council has conferred upon her the title of ambassador for this new function. 

Maya Jaouhari Tissafi, currently head of mission in Abu Dhabi, has been appointed head of the Middle East and North Africa Division of the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern. The Federal Council has conferred upon her the title of ambassador for this new function.

Siri Walt, currently head of mission in Kinshasa, has been appointed head of the Sub-Saharan Africa and Francophonie Division of the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern. The Federal Council has conferred upon her the title of ambassador for this new function.

Valérie Berset Bircher, currently deputy head of International Labour Affairs at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research in Bern has been appointed head of International Labour Affairs. The Federal Council has conferred upon her the title of ambassador for this new function.


Address for enquiries

FDFA Information
Tel. +41 58 462 31 53
info@eda.admin.ch


Publisher

The Federal Council
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases/media-releases-federal-council.msg-id-73413.html