Education
Born in Muri, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich.
chancellor Diplomat civil servant
Born in Muri, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich.
In 1989, he joined the ranks of Switzerland"s diplomatic corporations In 2002, he was appointed chief of staff of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs under Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss. The following year, he was named chief of staff of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, first under Pascal Couchepin, then Joseph Deiss, and finally Doris Leuthard.
He followed Leuthard when she took over the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications in 2011 as her chief of staff
He stood for election to succeed Corina Casanova as Federal Chancellor of Switzerland on December 9th 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in 90 years, and was elected by the Swiss Federal Assembly with 230 votes (out of 234 possible). He assumed office on January 1st, 2016.