Ex-Swiss minister Berset takes Council of Europe top job
Berset gathered enough votes in the second round of voting.
Keystone / Anthony Anex
Former Swiss government minister Alain Berset has been elected as the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe by the organisation's parliamentary assembly.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Português
pt
Ex-ministro Berset eleito secretário-geral do Conselho da Europa
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
Berset received the most votes in the second round of voting in Strasbourg on Tuesday. He will be the first Swiss to hold this office when he assumes duties in September.
He received 114* votes after the second round of voting in Strasbourg, France, announced by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Theodoros Rousopoulos. The other candidates, Estonian Indrek Saar and Belgian Didier Reynders, received 85 and 46 votes respectively. A total of 245 valid ballot papers were received.
In a short speech to parliament, Berset thanked Switzerland for its support. He also emphasised the importance of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Berset was elected as the 15th Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Marija Pejcinovic Buric from Croatia will remain Secretary General of the Council of Europe until Berset takes office on September 18.
As Secretary General, Berset will head the Secretariat of the Council of Europe, which according to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has around 1,800 employees. He will work closely with the various Council of Europe institutions such as the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Court of Human Rights.
According to the FDFA, he will also be responsible for the Council of Europe’s budget, which amounts to almost €625 million euros 2024. He will also assume a representative role in relation to other institutions.
More
More
A Swiss at the top of the Council of Europe
This content was published on
Ex-Interior Minister Alain Berset is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the historic Strasbourg organisation. Who is Berset, and what’s in store for his five-year term?
* This article was changed to correct the stated number of votes from 117 in the original version to the correct number of 114.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Zurich: how the world capital of housing shortages is tackling the problem
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Pope was a person full of respect: Swiss president
This content was published on
Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter, who is attending the funeral of Pope Francis, says the pontiff was always full of respect.
Ex-sect member sentenced in Zurich for sexual abuse
This content was published on
Zurich District Court has sentenced a former member of the globally active sect "Children of God" to a partial prison sentence.
SNB chairman does not rule out slowdown in Swiss growth
This content was published on
Martin Schlegel, chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), does not rule out a weakening of the Swiss economy in light of the tariff dispute.
Swiss NGOs abroad to receive 10% less federal funding
This content was published on
In 2025 and 2026, Swiss NGOs will have 10% less federal funding available for international cooperation than in the previous two-year period.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.