Viola Amherd
Viola Amherd (born 7 June 1962) is a Swiss politician from Brig-Glis in Valais. She served on the Swiss Federal Council from 2019 to 2025 and was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2024. She headed the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport and was the first woman to hold that job. In 2021 she joined The Centre party (the former CVP/PDC).
Earlier, she was active in local politics in Brig-Glis (1992–2012) and served on the National Council from 2005 to 2018. She was elected to the Federal Council in December 2018 and took office in January 2019. After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, she urged the IOC to suspend Russian and Belarusian officials and supported strengthening Switzerland’s armed forces, while opposing NATO membership. She was vice president of the Federal Council in 2023 and president in 2024. She announced she would resign as a federal councillor in March 2025.
She studied law at the University of Fribourg and has worked as a lawyer and notary in Brig-Glis since 1991. She is single and lives in Brig-Glis.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:23 (CET).