1. Ruth Dreifuss served as Vice President of Switzerland in 1998 and as President of Switzerland in 1999 for the Social Democratic Party.
13 Facts About Ruth Dreifuss
1. 2.
Ruth Dreifuss was born 9 January 1940 in St Gallen, Switzerland, the second of two children, to Sidney Dreifuss, a merchant, and Jeanne "Johanna", a secretary.
3.
Ruth Dreifuss's elder brother, Jean-Jacques Dreifuss, is a professor emeritus at the University of Geneva.
4.
In 1945, the family relocated to Geneva, where Ruth Dreifuss attended Ecole de Secheron, since 1947.
5.
Also, Ruth Dreifuss elected Secretary of the Swiss Trade Union, where she dealt with matters related to social insurance, labor law and women's issues, until her election to the Federal Council in 1993.
6.
Ruth Dreifuss was a social-democratic member of the City of Bern's Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1992.
7.
Ruth Dreifuss missed out the election to the National Council of Switzerland in 1991.
8.
Ruth Dreifuss is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former female leaders whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
9.
Ruth Dreifuss held the Federal Department of Home Affairs until her resignation on 31 December 2002.
10.
Ruth Dreifuss was the first woman ever to be elected President of the Confederation from 1 January to 31 December 1999.
11.
Ruth Dreifuss won several referendums, including a revision of the Health Insurance Bill, the 10th revision of the social security system, a drug policy based on prevention, therapy, help and rehabilitation, and a new law regarding the film industry and its development.
12.
Ruth Dreifuss worked on a Maternity Insurance law, but since the majority of the Federal Council rejected the proposal, she had to ask the people to reject her own text, as she had to respect collegiality.
13.
Ruth Dreifuss is a member and former chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and a member of International Commission Against the Death Penalty.