Christoph Blocher

Christoph Blocher
Head of the Department of Justice and Police
In office
1 January 2004 – 31 December 2007
Preceded byRuth Metzler
Succeeded byEveline Widmer-Schlumpf
Member of the Swiss Federal Council
In office
1 January 2004 – 31 December 2007
Preceded byRuth Metzler
Succeeded byEveline Widmer-Schlumpf
Member of the Swiss National Council
In office
5 December 2011 – 31 May 2014
ConstituencyCanton of Zürich
In office
26 November 1979 – 10 December 2003
ConstituencyCanton of Zürich
Personal details
Born
Christoph Wolfram Blocher

(1940-10-11) 11 October 1940 (age 84)
Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Political partySwiss People's Party
Spouse
Silvia Kaiser
​
​
(m. 1968)​
Children4, including Magdalena and Markus
Residences
Alma materUniversity of Zurich (Licentiate)
University of Zurich (JD)
Occupation
  • Industrialist
  • art collector
  • politician
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
Parliament website
Military service
Allegiance Switzerland
Branch/serviceSwiss Armed Forces
RankColonel

Christoph Wolfram Blocher (German pronunciation: [ˈkrɪ⁠stɔ⁠f ˈblɔ⁠⁠xər]; born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss industrialist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2007. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he headed the Federal Department of Justice and Police. As an industrialist, he became wealthy as CEO and majority shareholder in the EMS-Chemie corporation, now run by his daughter, Magdalena Martullo-Blocher.[1]

A controversial figure,[2] Blocher is known for his role in transforming Swiss politics,[2][3] shifting it to the right, as well as the Swiss People's Party, which has become "the dominant force in national politics".[3] As he "developed a eurosceptic and anti-immigration agenda that has shaken up the cozy post-war consensual system prevailing in neutral Switzerland",[3] Blocher served as the de facto leader of the SVP and a symbol of the party, holding its vice presidency from 2008 until 2018.[4]

  1. ^ "EMS Company History". EMS-Chemie. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference FirebrandB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Annoy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Skenderovic 2009, p. 138.