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Arnold Koller

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Arnold Koller
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
In office
1986–1999
Preceded byKurt Furgler
Succeeded byRuth Metzler
President of Switzerland
In office
1 January 1997 – 31 December 1997
Preceded byJean-Pascal Delamuraz
Succeeded byFlavio Cotti
In office
1 January 1990 – 31 December 1990
Preceded byJean-Pascal Delamuraz
Succeeded byFlavio Cotti
Personal details
Born
Arnold Koller

(1933-08-29) 29 August 1933 (age 91)
St. Gallen, Switzerland[1]
Political partyChristian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
Spouse
Erica Brander
​
​
(m. 1972)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity of St. Gallen (Licentiate)
University of Fribourg (Licentiate)
University of Fribourg (PhD)

Arnold Koller (/kɒllər/; koll-ər born 29 August 1933) is a Swiss professor and politician. He served as a member of the Federal Council (Switzerland) from 1987 to 1999 for the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP). Koller previously served as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) from 1971 to 1986.[2] He did also serve two terms of the as President of the Swiss Confederation in 1990 and 1997.[3][4][5] He is primarily known for Lex Koller, a Swiss Federal Act on Acquisitions of Real Estate by Persons Abroad, which he initiated.[6][7]

Early life and education

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Koller was born 29 August 1933 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, the oldest of five children, to Alois Arnold Koller and Genoveva (née Brülisauer). His father was an organist and elementary school teacher while his mother was a homemaker. He attended schools in Appenzell. Until 1957, Koller studied Economics in St. Gallen and then until 1959 Jurisprudence at the University of Fribourg and the University of California, Berkeley. He received a Licentiate degree in both majors. He received his PhD from the University of Fribourg 1966 respectively 1971.[8]

Career

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In 1960, Koller was admitted to the Bar of Appenzell Innerrhoden. He initially worked as a counsel in the legal department of PTT and from 1964 to 1966 in the Secretary of the Swiss Cartel Commission. Since completing his doctorate, he has worked as university professor and lecturer for Economics and Jurisprudence.[9]

Politics

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He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 10 December 1986 as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland from the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden. He handed over office on 30 April 1999.

During his time in office he held the following departments:[10]

He was President of the Confederation twice in 1990 and 1997.

Arnold Koller was Chairman of the Board of the Second International Conference on Federalism held in St. Gallen in 2002. The conference was organised based on the Governmental Learning Spiral, a method to design problem-solving events in politics. The conference background papers, proceedings and plenary speeches as well as the method are described in the book "Federalism in a Changing World – Learning from Each Other", which he edited together with Raoul Blindenbacher.[11]

From 2006 to 2010 Arnold Koller was the Chair of the Forum of Federations. This is an international organisation designed to help develop best practices in countries around the world with federal and devolved systems of government.

Personal life

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In 1972, he married Erica Brander, then a flight attendant for Swissair.[12] They have two daughters. Koller became an honorary citizen of Gossau in 2011.[13]

Selected Publications

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- Blindenbacher, R. and Koller, A. (eds): Federalism in a Changing World – Learning from Each Other. Background Papers, Proceedings and Plenary Speeches of the International Conference on Federalism 2002. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2003.

- Koller, A., Thürer, D. and Dafflon, B.: Principles of Federalism. Guidelines for Good Federal Practices – A Swiss Contribution. Zurich: Dike Verlag, 2012.

- Koller, A.: Aus der Werkstatt eines Bundesrates. Bern: Stämpfli Verlag, 2014

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hermann Bischofberger: Koller, Arnold. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.
  2. ^ "Ratsmitglied ansehen". Federal Assembly. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  3. ^ "Der Bund 23. Februar 1990 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  4. ^ "Thuner Tagblatt 7. Dezember 1989 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  5. ^ "Thuner Tagblatt 5. Dezember 1996 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  6. ^ "Engadiner Post 31. Januar 2013 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  7. ^ "Walliser Bote 11. Mai 1995 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  8. ^ "Koller, Arnold". hls-dhs-dss.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  9. ^ "Koller, Arnold". hls-dhs-dss.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  10. ^ Kreis, Georg, ed. Switzerland and the Second World War. Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000. 90.
  11. ^ Blindenbacher, Raoul; Koller, Arnold, eds. (2003-04-11). Federalism in a Changing World. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-7140-2.
  12. ^ "Neue Zürcher Nachrichten 11. Dezember 1986 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  13. ^ Rohner, Rafael. "Gossaus jüngste Ehrenbürger". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-06.
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Political offices
Preceded by President of the Swiss National Council
1984/1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Swiss Federal Council
1986–1999 		Succeeded by
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