Former Swiss diplomat and ex-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger was named at the end of May to take over as Swisspeace president in September.

The NGO describes itself as a “practice-oriented peace research institute” that analyzes the causes of violent conflicts and develops “strategies for their peaceful transformation”. Jakob Kellenberger will help make the work of Swisspeace even better “with his experience in the diplomatic sphere and his contacts on the international level,” the organisation said in a news release.

The Appenzell native entered the Swiss diplomatic service and the Institute in 1974. He was posted to Madrid, then to Brussels and subsequently to London. From 1984 to 1992, he headed the joint office of the Swiss Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs in charge of the relations to the European Union and EFTA, and in 1988, he was promoted from the diplomatic rank of minister to that of ambassador. From 1989 to 1991, he headed the transport negotiations (transit) with the European Community on the Swiss side.

In 1992, Jakob Kellenberger was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. From 1992 to 1999, he held the posts of Secretary of State and head of the Directorate of Political Affairs within the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. From 1994 to 1998, he was also coordinator and chief negotiator for Switzerland's sector-by-sector bilateral negotiations with the European Union. In 2000, Jakob Kellenberger became President of the ICRC. Since his departure in June 2012 he has been teaching at the University of Salamanca in Spain and at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). He is also a visiting professor at the Graduate Institute.

The Local, 21 May 2013
Photo: ICRC