Anna Elisabeth Kopp was a Swiss politician of the Free Democratic Party.
21 Facts About Elisabeth Kopp
2.
Elisabeth Kopp was the first woman to serve in the Swiss government, the Federal Council.
3.
Elisabeth Kopp held that office from 2 October 1984 to 12 January 1989, when she resigned following a scandal over an alleged breach of official secrecy.
4.
Elisabeth Kopp previously served as a member of the National Council from 1979 to 1984.
5.
Elisabeth Kopp's father was a director of the Federal Department of Finance and a member of the board of the Swiss National Bank.
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Elisabeth Kopp hailed from textile manufacturing families from St Gallen on both her paternal and maternal sides.
7.
Elisabeth Kopp attended high school Bern before in 1956 she began to study law at the University of Zurich graduating with a Licentiate in 1960.
8.
In 1963 Elisabeth Kopp gave birth to a daughter and until 1970, she was a housewife.
9.
In 1970, Elisabeth Kopp became a municipal councilor of Zumikon, and in 1974 the first female president of a municipality in the canton of Zurich.
10.
Elisabeth Kopp joined the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature, the predecessor of Pro Natura.
11.
Elisabeth Kopp defended nuclear energy as a clean energy, campaigned for the expansion of the airport in Zurich or opposed federal scholarships and a 42-hour week for the federal services.
12.
On 2 October 1984, Elisabeth Kopp was elected to the Federal Council as the first woman ever in that office.
13.
Elisabeth Kopp was elected with the first ballot, receiving 124 votes out of 244.
14.
Kopp's husband Hans W Kopp was investigated by the authorities in Zurich over the bankruptcy of the investment company Trans K-B, of which he was the president of the board of directors.
15.
Elisabeth Kopp then confessed having made that call, which led to the Swiss media demanding her resignation.
16.
On 12 December 1988, Elisabeth Kopp announced that she would resign at the end of February 1989, insisting that she was without guilt in the matter.
17.
Pressure was raised again and Elisabeth Kopp finally announced her immediate resignation on 12 January 1989.
18.
Elisabeth Kopp's resignation led to the imposition of a parliamentary investigative commission, headed by Moritz Leuenberger of the Social Democratic Party.
19.
In February 1990, the court ruled that the information in question was classified, but it could not be determined if Elisabeth Kopp was aware of this.
20.
In 1960, Elisabeth Ikle married Hans W Kopp, who was an attorney and board member of several companies.
21.
In Zumikon, the family Elisabeth Kopp lived on the estate Three Oaks on which she surrounded the villa with two biotopes, endangered plants and a waterfall powered by solar power.