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Ambassadors
Circle
Series
Sponsored by
Ambassador Urs
Ziswiler, Swiss Ambassador to the United States of America
Switzerland in the US: More than Chocolate and Mountains
November 3rd, 2009
Switzerland
is
historically
known
as
the
banking
center
since
the
Middle
Ages.
More
recently,
the
World
Economic
Forum
names
Switzerland
the
most
competitive
nation
in
the
world.
In
an
ever-changing
financial
environment,
please
join
His
Excellency
Ambassador
Urs
Ziswiler
on
November
3 as
he
discusses
“Switzerland
in
the
US:
More
than
Chocolate
and
Mountains.”
Ambassador Urs Ziswiler arrived in
Washington, D.C. as Swiss Ambassador to the United States in May 2006. Prior to
his current posting, he served as Head of the Political Directorate of the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern, the second highest ranking
diplomat in the Swiss Foreign Service. In this capacity, he was also
Vice-Chairman of the Presence Switzerland (PRS) Commission, Switzerland’s public
outreach agency. Previously, Mr. Ziswiler served as a Senior Diplomatic Adviser
to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Councilor Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Since joining the Foreign Service in
1979, Ambassador Ziswiler has held a number of diplomatic postings both in Bern
and abroad. He was appointed as Ambassador of Switzerland to Canada and the
Bahamas (1999-2004), Chargé d’affaires a.i. in Zagreb for Yugoslavia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina in 1993, and Deputy Head of Mission in Buenos Aires (1994-1995)
and Tel Aviv (1988-1990). From 1980-1985, he was Deputy Head of Mission at the
Swiss embassies in Kinshasa, Lagos, and Oslo, and also served at the Swiss
Mission to the European Union in Brussels. In Bern, Ambassador Ziswiler served
as Head of the Political Division for Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy and
Coordinator for International Refugee Policy (1995-1999), Spokesman and Head of
the Information Department of the European Integration Office (1990-1992), and
in the same office, also was the Chairman of the EFTA Trade Committee (1987) and
managed relationships with the EFTA countries and the former Yugoslavia
(1985-1988).
Ambassador Ziswiler began his career
as a junior expert for the World Bank in Madagascar and later served as a
Delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Beirut, Gaza, Tel
Aviv, and Kampala. He holds a law degree from the Universities of Geneva and
Zurich and has a post-graduate diploma on developing countries from the Federal
Institute of Technology in Zurich. Ambassador Ziswiler is fluent in German,
English, French, Spanish, and Italian and has a basic knowledge of Arabic.
Ambassador Ziswiler, a citizen of Buttisholz in the Canton of Lucerne, was born
in Muri in the Canton of Argovia in 1949. He is married to Ronit Ziswiler and
they have two children.
Date:
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Location:
The Westin (Uptown Charlotte)
Google Map
Time:
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Cost:
Lunch included
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