Karin Keller-Sutter


Karin Keller-Sutter is a Swiss politician and a member of the FDP. She is a current member of the Swiss Federal Council, the federal government of Switzerland, and head of the Department of Justice and Police.

Biography

Karin Keller-Sutter lived her childhood in Wil before moving to Neuchâtel. She studied language interpretation at Dolmetscherschule Zurich in Zürich. She then worked in a private capacity while studying political science in London and Montréal. She also achieved a pedagogy post-grad from the University of Fribourg and worked as a professor in a professional school.
Keller-Sutter undertook a political career as a municipal councilor between 1992 and 2000. She presided the municipal assembly in 1997.
From 1996 to 2000, she was a deputy of the Kantonsrat, while presiding the local arm of the FDP.
On 12 March 2000, Keller-Sutter was elected to the Regierungsrat of the canton of St. Gallen, where she was appointed to the department for security and justice. She was also vice-president of the conference of cantonal directors for justice and police. She presided the government in 2006-2007.
On 22 September 2010, Keller-Sutter was a candidate for the Swiss Federal Council to succeed Hans-Rudolf Merz but was not elected.
On 23 October 2011, she was elected with 65% of the votes to represent the canton of St. Gallen in the Council of States.
Karin Keller-Sutter is the vice president of the Board of Trustees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies.
On 8 October 2018, she once again announced her candidacy for Swiss Federal Council, this time for the seat of recently retired Johann Schneider-Ammann.
On 5 December 2018, she was elected for the Swiss Federal Council with 154 votes out of 237.