The man hoping to be the voice of the Swiss abroad

Former ambassador Tim Guldimann, the first Swiss expat to be elected to the Swiss parliament, aims to give a voice to the Swiss abroad. Guldimann, who lives in Berlin, feels their views and needs are not sufficiently taken into account. For Guldimann, retirement starts with a new mandate: after leaving the diplomatic service and his post as Swiss ambassador in Berlin, the Zurich Social Democrat will be anything but idle. He was resoundingly elected in his constituency, the canton of Zurich; in a few weeks, he will be sworn in and take up his seat in the House of Representatives. With his insider knowledge of the workings of federal Bern, where he joined the foreign ministry in 1982, the newly elected parliamentarian will be at home in the legislative body. Nor is he a newcomer to politics: as he likes to point out, he has been a member of the Social Democratic Party for 33 years. He is also a former negotiator for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in ...