Huber-Hotz was elected as Federal Chancellor in 1999 after having worked in the parliament administration for more than 20 years.
Keystone/Alessandro Della Valle
The former Federal Chancellor, Annemarie Huber-Hotz, has died following a heart attack, aged 70.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/urs
Her family said Huber-Hotz suffered a heart failure during a hiking trip on Thursday.
Huber-Hotz was elected to the post by parliament in 1999 and served until 2007 as chief manager of the seven-member Swiss government.
She was the first woman to be chosen as Federal Chancellor in modern Swiss history. The position is a political appointment but has only a technocratic role.
After her retirement, Huber-Hotz was president of several non-governmental organisations and charities, including the Swiss Red Cross and the Swiss Benevolent Society. She was also a vice-president of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
In a first reaction, the Swiss governmentExternal link has praised Huber-Hotz for her efficiency in supporting the cabinet, her patience and generosity.
Related Stories
Popular Stories
More
International Geneva
A Geneva-based global health foundation came close to ‘collapse’. Where were regulators?
Swiss-EU treaties: signatures handed in for Kompass initiative
This content was published on
The committee behind the Compass Initiative submitted the signatures it had collected to the Federal Chancellery on Friday.
This content was published on
Esther Grether has died aged 89. Considered one of Switzerland’s leading entrepreneurs, the owner of the Basel-based Doetsch Grether Group was also a major shareholder in the Swatch Group and an art collector.
This content was published on
The flag of the Swiss Wrestling Federation has been received at the start of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Mollis, canton Glarus.
Figurine heads in Zurich school not considered discriminatory
This content was published on
The 16 carved figurine heads in the auditorium of the Hirschengraben school building in Zurich are not discriminatory, according to an independent expert report.
Swiss political parties report income of CHF22.4 million for 2024
This content was published on
Ten parties reported income totalling CHF22.4 million for 2024, less than in the 2023 election year. The reports are based on the regulations for transparency in political financing.
FIFA loses multi-million lawsuit against Blatter and Kattner
This content was published on
Former FIFA officials Joseph Blatter and Markus Kattner do not have to pay back their own bonuses or the bonus totalling CHF 23 million paid to another FIFA official to FIFA. This was decided by the Zurich Labour Court.
How cancer cells makes healthy cells work for them
This content was published on
Cancer cells manipulate neighbouring cells for their own purposes: a research team at ETH Zurich has discovered that they can reprogram neighbouring cells in such a way that they help the tumour to grow.
This content was published on
The ban on non-residents entering the swimming pool in Porrentruy, canton Jura, expires on Sunday and would be extended until the end of the season, the mayor said.
Natural disasters: most Swiss back forced resettlement
This content was published on
The authorities should be allowed to order forced relocations if there is a medium-term risk of a natural event, according to 58% of participants in a survey.
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.
Read more
More
Swiss women fill high political office in 2010
This content was published on
swissinfo.ch asked political scientist Werner Seitz from the Federal Statistics Office whether any conclusions could be drawn from this – or whether it was just a coincidence. It’s fair to say that Switzerland has hardly shone regarding female suffrage: women in the United States, Britain and Germany had been voting for 50 years when their…
This content was published on
Political parties in Switzerland are submitting a growing number of initiatives for voters to decide on. In recent years, parties have increasingly used people’s initiatives to better define their political agenda and to get in the media spotlight. Critics complain that parties are misusing initiatives as marketing tools. In an interview with a Sunday newspaper,…
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.