Erika Forster: business gravitas in the Bundeshaus.

AuteurHancock, Julia
Fonction Politics

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Swiss News concludes its series of talks with the women of Switzerland's ruling female political triumvirate with Erika Forster, the speaker of the Upper House of Parliament. An experienced politician and a member of a well-known entrepreneurial family, she brings both political gravitas and a strong link to the business world to her legislative role. Julia Hancock spoke with her in Bern.

Erika Forster's official photos give her a Nordic look, but fail to capture her warm, almost maternal, demeanour. She sees me as she walks up the parliament's main steps and immediately thrusts out her arm to shake my hand, greeting me with a warm and welcoming smile. She is slender and elegant, with a youthful manner that immediately makes you feel at ease.

Forster, 66, was elected speaker of the Senate (the upper house of parliament) in November last year, winning 43 of the 44 votes cast. As with her counterpart in the lower house, the senate speaker's term lasts one calendar year. Forster is one of three women occupying the nation's three highest political postings this year--an unprecedented event. Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard is holding the rotating presidency, while Pascale Bruderer is the speaker of parliament's lower house, the House of Representatives.

Forster was first elected to political office in 1977, when she became a member of the St. Gallen city legislature. After 10 years in the city council, she was elected to the St. Gallen cantonal government, before entering the Senate in 1995.

A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), during her 15 years as a senator, she has gained the reputation as a representative of the business community in the world of politics. However, this role also makes Forster part of what many see as a dying breed--as Swiss politicians increasingly hail from legal or teaching backgrounds.

Living business

While her CV includes a stint as an airhostess for Swiss Air, Forster cut her business teeth in the family textile business, Forster Rohners AG. Her husband, Ueli Forster, ran the successful firm for some 35 years: It was under his leadership that the company was transformed into an international business with branches across the world. It is now run by one of the couple's sons and their youngest daughter. Their other two children have also taken on different roles within the company.

"Yes, I do think that business awareness, or rather, more business awareness is crucial in politics. But at...

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