When the Postal Services Act came into effect on 1 October 2012, Swiss Post was converted from a federal public institution to a company limited by shares subject to a special statutory regime. As a result, the Federal Council can no longer decide who to appoint as the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors. An election will be held at the company’s General Meeting.

Urs Schwaller was born on 31 October 1952 in Fribourg and lives in Tafers, in the Canton of Fribourg. He completed his school leaving examination and obtained a degree in canon and secular law in Fribourg, where he studied for his PhD and then qualified as an attorney. Important milestones in his career include the roles as Director of the Police Department in the Canton of Fribourg, Prefect of the Sense District, and State Councillor at the Cantonal Government of Fribourg, initially as Director of Internal Affairs and then as Director of Finance. Urs Schwaller was a member of the Council of States for the Canton of Fribourg between 2004 and 2015; President of the Christian Democratic People’s Party of Switzerland / Evangelical People’s Party of Switzerland (CVP-EVP) Group between 2005 and 2014 and was a delegate in the Permanent Representation of Switzerland to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg between 2011 and 2015.

Urs Schwaller has gained entrepreneurial experience on various boards of directors and in associations. He will be resigning various directorships in 2016 and will organize his law firm accordingly when he assumes the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors at Swiss Post as this position will occupy 50% of his working time.