Famous Swiss Leaders

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 1 
Mikhail Bakunin
(Philosopher)
Mikhail Bakunin
5
Birthdate: May 30, 1814
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Russia
Died: July 1, 1876

Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian socialist and anarchist. He is credited with founding an anarchist school of thought called collectivist anarchism. Regarded as one of the most influential personalities of anarchism, Mikhail Bakunin has had a major influence on thinkers like Peter Kropotkin, Herbert Marcuse, Errico Malatesta, Neil Postman, E. P. Thompson, and A. S. Neill.    

 2 
Henry Wirz
(Swiss-American Officer of the Southern Army)
Henry Wirz
4
Birthdate: November 25, 1823
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Zürich, Switzerland
Died: November 10, 1865
 3 
Desmond Swayne
(British Politician)
Desmond Swayne
3
Birthdate: August 20, 1956
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bern, Switzerland
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 4 
John Sutter
(Swiss Immigrant Known for Establishing 'Sutter's Fort' in the Area that Would Eventually Become Sacramento, California)
John Sutter
3
Birthdate: February 23, 1803
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kandern, Germany
Died: June 18, 1880

John Sutter, also known as Don Juan Sutter, was a German-born Swiss colonizer who established Sutter's Fort, or modern-day Sacramento, the capital of California. After one of his employees, a carpenter named James W. Marshall, found gold in his area in 1848, the California Gold Rush began.

 5 
Simonetta Sommaruga
(Politician)
Simonetta Sommaruga
5
Birthdate: May 14, 1960
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Zug, Switzerland

While Simonetta Sommaruga has been the president of Switzerland, she is also a talented pianist, trained at the Lucerne School of Music. She later dropped out of a university English course. She has also been the director of the Consumer Protection Foundation and part of committees on energy and the environment.

 6 
Doris Leuthard
(Swiss Lawyer and Politician)
Doris Leuthard
3
Birthdate: April 10, 1963
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Merenschwand, Switzerland
 7 
Antoine-Henri Jomini
(Swiss Military Officer)
Antoine-Henri Jomini
3
Birthdate: March 6, 1779
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Payerne, Switzerland
Died: March 24, 1869
 8 
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
(31st President of Chile (1994 - 2000))
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
2
Birthdate: June 24, 1942
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Santiago

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle served as the President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. Under his presidency, poverty in Chile decreased and improvements were made in education and health sectors. An important politician, Frei also served as the President of the Senate of Chile from 2006 to 2008.

 9 
Ignazio Cassis
(President of Switzerland)
Ignazio Cassis
2
Birthdate: April 13, 1961
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Sessa, Ticino, Switzerland

The current president of Switzerland and FDP.The Liberals politician, Ignazio Cassis is also a qualified doctor of internal medicine, who has previously led the Swiss Medical Association as its vice president. He is also fluent in German, French, and Italian, and was initially an Italian citizen.

 10 
Viola Amherd
(Swiss Politician)
Viola Amherd
3
Birthdate: June 7, 1962
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Brig-Glis, Switzerland
 11 
Alfred Escher
(Swiss Railways Pioneer, Politician, and Business Leader)
Alfred Escher
2
Birthdate: February 20, 1819
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Zürich
 12 
Christoph Blocher
(Swiss Politician and Industrialist)
Christoph Blocher
3
Birthdate: October 11, 1940
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Schaffhausen
 13 
Karin Keller-Sutter
(Swiss Politician)
Karin Keller-Sutter
1
Birthdate: December 22, 1963
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Uzwil, Switzerland
 14 
Micheline Calmy-Rey
(Swiss Politician)
Micheline Calmy-Rey
1
Birthdate: July 8, 1945
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Sion
 15 
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
(Swiss Lawyer and Politician)
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
1
Birthdate: March 16, 1956
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Felsberg, Switzerland
 16 
Ruth Dreifuss
(Swiss Politician)
Ruth Dreifuss
2
Birthdate: January 9, 1940
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: St. Gallen, Switzerland
 17 
Ulrich Wille
(German-born Swiss Army Leader)
Ulrich Wille
1
Birthdate: April 5, 1848
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: January 31, 1925
 18 
Charles Albert Gobat
(Swiss Lawyer and Politician)
Charles Albert Gobat
1
Birthdate: May 21, 1843
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tramelan, Switzerland
Died: March 16, 1914
 19 
Guillaume Henri Dufour
(Swiss Military Officer, Topographer, and Structural Engineer)
Guillaume Henri Dufour
1
Birthdate: September 15, 1787
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Konstanz, Germany
Died: July 14, 1875
 20 
Jonas Furrer
(Swiss Lawyer and Politician)
Jonas Furrer
2
Birthdate: March 3, 1805
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Winterthur, Switzerland
Died: July 25, 1861
 21 
Hans-Rudolf Merz
(Swiss Politician)
Hans-Rudolf Merz
1
Birthdate: November 10, 1942
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Herisau, Switzerland
 22 
François Bonivard
(Genevan Nobleman, Historian and Politician)
François Bonivard
1
Birthdate: 1493 AD
Birthplace: Seyssel, France
Died: 1570 AD

François Bonivard was a nobleman and historian whose life was the inspiration for Lord Byron's 1816 poem The Prisoner of Chillon. He was a partisan of the Protestant Reformation and a Geneva patriot at the time of the Republic of Geneva. His life was tumultuous, and by most accounts, he was a libertine. He was married four times.

 23 
Françoise Giroud
(French Screenwriter, Journalist, Writer, and Politician)
Françoise Giroud
1
Birthdate: September 21, 1916
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Died: January 19, 2003
 24 
Frederick Haldimand
(Swiss Military Officer)
Frederick Haldimand
1
Birthdate: August 11, 1718
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Died: June 5, 1791
 25 
Pascal Couchepin
(Swiss Politician)
Pascal Couchepin
1
Birthdate: April 5, 1942
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Martigny
 26 
Johann Kaspar Bluntschli
(Swiss Politician and Jurist)
Johann Kaspar Bluntschli
1
Birthdate: March 7, 1808
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Zürich, Switzerland
Died: October 21, 1881
 27 
Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné
(Swiss Historian of the Reformation and Protestant Minister)
Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné
1
Birthdate: August 16, 1794
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Eaux-Vives, Switzerland
Died: October 21, 1872
 28 
Adrian von Bubenberg
(Bernese Knight, Mayor, and Military Commander)
Adrian von Bubenberg
1
Birthdate: 1434 AD
Birthplace: Bern, Switzerland
Died: July 31, 1479
 29 
Frédéric-César de La Harpe
(Swiss Writer, Political Leader, and Journalist)
Frédéric-César de La Harpe
1
Birthdate: April 6, 1754
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Rolle, Switzerland
Died: March 30, 1838
 30 
Jörg Jenatsch
(Swiss Political Leader)
Jörg Jenatsch
1
Birthdate: 1596 AD
Birthplace: Samedan, Switzerland
Died: January 24, 1639
 31 
Hans Waldmann
(Swiss Military and Political Leader)
Hans Waldmann
1
Birthdate: 1435 AD
Birthplace: Blickenstorf, Switzerland
Died: April 6, 1489
 32 
Moritz Leuenberger
(Swiss Lawyer and Politician)
Moritz Leuenberger
1
Birthdate: September 21, 1946
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Biel/Bienne
 33 
Aegidius Tschudi
(Swiss Historian and Statesman)
Aegidius Tschudi
1
Birthdate: February 5, 1505
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Glarus, Switzerland
Died: February 28, 1572
 34 
Ulrich Ochsenbein
(Swiss Political Leader)
Ulrich Ochsenbein
0
Birthdate: November 24, 1811
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Switzerland
Died: November 3, 1890
 35 
Giuseppe Motta
(Swiss Politician)
Giuseppe Motta
0
Birthdate: December 29, 1871
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Airolo, Switzerland
Died: January 23, 1940
 36 
Stefano Franscini
(Swiss Statistician and Politician)
Stefano Franscini
0
Birthdate: October 23, 1796
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Bodio, Switzerland
Died: July 19, 1857
 37 
Abraham Davel
(Swiss Soldier and Freedom Fighter)
Abraham Davel
0
Birthdate: October 20, 1670
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Morrens, Switzerland
Died: April 24, 1723
 38 
Rudolf Brun
(Swiss Political Leader)
Rudolf Brun
0
Birthdate: 1290 AD
Birthplace: Zürich, Switzerland
Died: September 17, 1360
 39 
Charles Pictet de Rochemont
(Swiss Diplomat, Statesman, and Farmer)
Charles Pictet de Rochemont
0
Birthdate: September 21, 1755
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cartigny, Switzerland
Died: December 28, 1824
 40 
Niklaus Manuel Deutsch
(Artist)
Niklaus Manuel Deutsch
0
Birthdate: 1484 AD
Birthplace: Bern, Switzerland
Died: April 28, 1530

Niklaus Manuel Deutsch was not just a soldier and a statesman from Switzerland, but also a talented painter. A major figure of Swiss Renaissance art, he was initially inspired by Italian painters and later included mythological and spiritual themes in his works such as Pyramus and Thisbe.

 41 
Jakob Stämpfli
(Swiss Politician)
Jakob Stämpfli
0
Birthdate: February 23, 1820
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Wengi, Switzerland
Died: May 15, 1879
 42 
Numa Droz
(Swiss Politician)
Numa Droz
0
Birthdate: January 27, 1844
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Died: December 15, 1899
 43 
Emil Welti
(Swiss Lawyer, Judge, and Politician)
Emil Welti
0
Birthdate: April 23, 1825
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Bad Zurzach, Switzerland
Died: February 24, 1899
 44 
Niklaus Leuenberger
(Swiss Revolutionary and Leader of a Rural Rebellion)
Niklaus Leuenberger
0
Birthdate: 1615 AD
Birthplace: Rüderswil, Switzerland
Died: August 27, 1653
 45 
Pierre Graber
(Swiss Politician)
Pierre Graber
0
Birthdate: December 6, 1908
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Died: July 19, 2003
 46 
Peter Ochs
(Swiss Politician)
Peter Ochs
0
Birthdate: August 20, 1752
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nantes, France
Died: June 19, 1821
 47 
Constantin Siegwart-Müller
(Swiss Political Leader)
Constantin Siegwart-Müller
0
Birthdate: October 10, 1801
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Lodrino, Switzerland
Died: January 13, 1869
 48 
Rudolf Stüssi
(Swiss Politician)
Rudolf Stüssi
0
Birthplace: Zürich, Switzerland
Died: July 22, 1443

Once the burgomaster of Zurich, Rudolf Stüssi aimed to extend his control and thus attacked the lands of Toggenburg, after its ruler died without an heir. His ambitions led to the Old Zurich War, and he eventually died while a bridge in Sihl, at the Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl.

 49 
Alois von Reding
(Swiss Politician and Military Officer)
Alois von Reding
0
Birthdate: March 6, 1765
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Schwyz, Switzerland
Died: February 5, 1818
 50 
Hans Martin Sutermeister
(Swiss Medical Writer, Physician, Politician, and Activist)
Hans Martin Sutermeister
0
Birthdate: September 29, 1907
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Feuerthalen
Died: May 4, 1977