Gingrich hands over credentials as US Ambassador to Switzerland

Callista Louise Gingrich new US Ambassador to Switzerland Keystone-SDA

Callista Louise Gingrich has handed her credentials as United States Ambassador to Switzerland over to the President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter.

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During Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, the 59-year-old Gingrich had been US ambassador to the Vatican. She will now represent US interests in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Her appointment was seen in Washington as a reward for the Gingrich couple, described as “happily married” by Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform. Her husband, Newt Gingrich, was Speaker of the US House of Representatives between 1995 and 1999.

Gingrich roots

Callista Louise Gingrich hails from the northern state of Wisconsin, but she also has Swiss roots: her maternal ancestors came from Chur, Graubünden, while her father’s ancestors were Polish.

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The 59-year-old Republican runs a multimedia production and consulting company, which has produced several documentary films and published a series of children’s books.

After studying music and other subjects, in 1988, Gingrich began an internship as a congressional attaché in Washington DC, where she remained until 1995, when she worked as an office manager for the House Agriculture Committee. It was during this time that she met her husband, Newt Gingrich.

Trump admirer

The 82-year-old Republican and his wife are considered close allies of Donald Trump in Washington. Newt Gingrich had already supported the tycoon during his first presidential campaign and was considered one of his most fervent supporters.

In recent years he has also written seven books in which he called Trump the best president in American history. As the leader of the right-wing Tea Party, Newt Gingrich represents the conservatism of the current Republican Party.

So far representing the US in Bern has been Scott Miller, who has made a name for himself as an LGBTQ activist and a great patron of the arts. He financed Joe Biden’s campaign in 2022, when the Democrat appointed him ambassador to Switzerland.

During Donald Trump’s first term, the US embassy in Bern was occupied for three years by political strategist Ed McMullen.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga

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