Karin Keller-Sutter
Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter has been Head of the Federal Department of Finance FDF since January 2023.
Karin Keller-Sutter was born in 1963. She is from the canton of St Gallen and went to school in Wil and Neuchâtel. Karin-Keller Sutter is a qualified translator/interpreter and secondary school teacher. She studied in Zurich, London and Montreal, where she also studied political science. She worked as a freelance translator and vocational secondary school teacher from 1989 to 2000. Karin Keller-Sutter is married.
Karin Keller-Sutter began her political career in 1992 as a member of Wil town council. In 1996 she was elected to the cantonal parliament of St. Gallen. In 2000 she entered the cantonal government of St. Gallen where she headed the Justice and Security Department. In 2011 Karin Keller-Sutter was elected to the Council of States where she represented the canton of St. Gallen. She held the presidency of the Council of States in 2017/2018.
Prior to her election to the Federal Council, Karin Keller-Sutter held a variety of positions: chair of the board of Pensimo Management AG; president of the board of trustees of the Pensimo Investment Foundation; vice president of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies; board member of Bâloise Insurance Group and the ASGA pension fund in St. Gallen; president of the Swiss Retail Federation, and board member of the Swiss Employers Association. Between 2012 and 2016 she was also a board member of the NZZ Media Group. Following her election to the Federal Council in 2018, Karin Keller-Sutter stepped down from all of these posts.
The United Federal Assembly elected Karin Keller-Sutter to the Federal Council on 5 December 2018. She initially took on the role of Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter has been Head of the Federal Department of Finance since 1 January 2023 and President of the Federal Council since 1 January 2025.
Personal details and Education
Personal details
- Born on 22 December 1963
- Lives in Wil (St. Gallen)
- Married to Morten Keller
Education
- Attended schools in Wil and Neuchâtel
- Studied translation and conference interpreting at the Dolmetscherschule Zürich DOZ (now ZHAW)
- Study semesters i.a. at City of London Polytechnic and University of Montreal (Political Science)
Postgraduate studies at University of Fribourg teacher training institute (vocational school teaching qualification)
Political activities of Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter
Time period | Political activities |
|---|---|
2025 | President of the Federal Council |
Since 1.1.2023 | Head of the Federal Department of Finance FDF |
2019-2022 | Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police FDJP |
05.12.2018 | Election to the Federal Council |
2017-2018 | President of the Federal Council of States |
2011-2018 | Member of the Council of States for the Canton of St. Gallen |
2010- 2012 | President of the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (CCJPD) |
2006-2007 2011-2012 | President of St. Gallen Cantonal Council |
2000- 2012 | Member of St. Gallen Cantonal Council, Head of Security and Justice Department |
1996-2000 | Member of Cantonal Parliament |
1995-2000 | Board member of St. Gallen Cantonal Chamber of Commerce |
1997 | President of Wil Town Parliament |
1992-2000 | Member of Wil Town Parliament |
See also
Presidential year 2025
Karin Keller-Sutter will serve as Federal President in 2025.
Autograph card
Order an autographed card from the Swiss Federal President.
Interviews et contributions
Les interviews de la présidente de la Confédération, Karin Keller-Sutter.
Speeches
Speeches by Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter in full.
Former Heads of Department
When the modern Swiss federal state was founded in 1848, Federal Councillor Martin J. Munzinger was the first to take charge of the «Department of Finance». Since then, over thirty Federal Councillors have headed the department. In 2010, a female Federal Councillor took up the post for the first time.