26 Facts About Micheline Calmy-Rey

Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey was born on 8 July 1945 and is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2003 to 2011.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was President of the Swiss Confederation twice, in 2007 and 2011.

Micheline Calmy-Rey received her diploma in 1963 in Saint-Maurice and a licence degree in political science at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, in 1968.

Micheline Calmy-Rey established a small enterprise in the book distribution business.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was president of the Geneva section of the party from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1997.

In 1997, Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected to the Conseil d'Etat of Geneva.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected on 4 December 2002 to the Federal Council, heading the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2011.

Micheline Calmy-Rey is the fourth woman elected to the Federal Council in history.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected Vice-President of Switzerland, a post she held for the calendar year of 2006 and the calendar year of 2010.

Micheline Calmy-Rey supports Switzerland joining the European Union and she is an Eminent Member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation.

Since 2016, Micheline Calmy-Rey has been a member of the board of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organisation that works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law.

Micheline Calmy-Rey is a member of the board Geneva of GESDA.

On 1 January 2007, Micheline Calmy-Rey became the second female president of the Confederation in history, the first having been her predecessor on the Federal Council, Ruth Dreifuss.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected as president on 13 December 2006 by 147 votes.

Micheline Calmy-Rey had been the longest-serving councillor not to have been president, and had served as vice-president for 2006.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence, and had the power to act on behalf of the whole Council in emergency situations.

Micheline Calmy-Rey had already handled most official visits abroad since being elected to the Federal Council; the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs traditionally carries out such visits.

Micheline Calmy-Rey was chosen as vice president for 2010, serving alongside Doris Leuthard.

Micheline Calmy-Rey is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

Micheline Calmy-Rey announced in September 2011 that she would resign from the government in the following December.

From 2012 to 2013, Micheline Calmy-Rey was a member of the High-Level Advisory Council of the President of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Serbia's then foreign minister Vuk Jeremic.

Micheline Calmy-Rey is a member of the Socialist party of Switzerland and positions herself as pro-European.

In February 2020, Micheline Calmy-Rey joined around fifty former European prime ministers and foreign ministers in signing an open letter published by British newspaper The Guardian to condemn US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, saying it would create an apartheid-like situation in occupied Palestinian territory.

In May 2012 Micheline Calmy-Rey was appointed as invited professor et the University of Geneva.

Micheline Calmy-Rey prompted controversy by attending the signing of a multibillion-dollar natural gas deal of a Swiss energy supply company with Iran.

Micheline Calmy-Rey pointed out that gas exports were not subject to the UN sanctions.