Schaffner, Hans

Hans Schaffner received his law degree from the University of Bern. Since 1934, he worked in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bern, then in the Trade and Industry Association of Bern. From 1938 to 1941, he held a position in the Federal Office for Industry, Trade and Labor. In 1941-1946 he was one of the leaders of the military economy. Since 1946, he worked in the trade department of the Federal Department of Economics, and in 1954 he headed the department. He played a significant role in the creation of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1958, which included seven countries that did not join the European Economic Community . In June 1961, Schaffner was elected to the Federal Council (Government) of Switzerland, where he headed the economic department.

• June 15, 1961 - December 31, 1969 - Member of the Federal Council of Switzerland.
• July 1, 1961 - December 31, 1969 - Head of the Department (Minister) of Economics .
• January 1 - December 31, 1965 - Vice President of Switzerland.
• January 1 - December 31, 1966 - President of Switzerland.

After his retirement in 1969, due to health reasons, Hans Schaffner held senior positions in several companies ( Sandoz AG , Alusuisse, Textilmaschinenfabrik Rieter AG and Kabelwerke Cossonay). He was also a member of the OECD expert group.

• Hans Schaffner on the website of the Federal Council of Switzerland
• Schaffner, Hans - article from the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (German) (French) (Italian)