Cornelio Sommaruga

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Cornelio Sommaruga (* December 29, 1932 in Rome) is a prominent Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat who is best known for being President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1987 to 1999. Today, he chairs the International Center for Humanitarian Mine Clearing Operations (ICHCD) in Geneva. He is also active on a number of boards, such as the Caux Foundation, promoting social and cultural change and projects.

1 Background
2 Awards
3 External Links

[edit] Background

[edit] Early years and education

Cornelio Sommaruga was born in Rome, Italy, where his father was was stationed at the Swiss embassy. In fact, he spoke Italian long before he learned German. He was brought up by a Catholic father and a Protestant mother and remained a devout Christian throughout his life. He was profoundly influenced by his early years in Rome. The period in which his father represented Switzerland at the Vatican probably inspired him the most in terms of his long diplomatic and humanitarian career. Despite his connection to Rome, he has close ties with Ticino, his family's canton of origin.

He went to grammar and high school in Italy and attended university in Zurich, Switzerland, where he obtained a doctorate in law in 1957. It was only during this period that he learned German, one of the four national languages of Switzerland.

[edit] Professional career

Cornelio Sommaruga entered the Swiss diplomatic corps after working two years in the banking sector from 1957 to 1959. He served as a senior diplomat in The Hague, Rome and Bern. From 1968 to 1973, he was the deputy of the Swiss delegation to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the senior representative to UNCTAD, GATT and the United Nations (UN), where he further developed his diplomatic and negotiating skills. From 1973 to 1975, he served as the deputy to the General Secretary of EFTA in Geneva. From there, he returned to Bern where he held senior posts at the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss government. From 1984 to 1987, he was Undersecretary of State at the Office of Foreign Affairs, a job he left when he was nominated to the ICRC in 1986.

Cornelio Sommaruga served as President of the ICRC from 1987 to 1999, succeeding Alexandre Hay. During his tenure, the budget and the international activities of the Committee increased considerably. He maintained the neutrality of the ICRC while keeping close ties to the Swiss government as well as other member nations. One of his last initiatives was to propose the introduction of the Red Crystal as the third symbol representing the Red Cross movement, alongside with the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Among his challenges at the ICRC were:

bringing the ICRC in tune with the younger generation of delegates to reduce the defections which plagued the ICRC when he took over as President
the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War
the genocide in Rwanda in 1994
the killing of six delegates of the ICRC in Grosny in December 1996
the debate within the ICRC of the role of the Red Cross in World War II and the issue of the Holocaust

From 2000 to the end of 2006 Cornelio Sommarug served as President of Intiatives of Change International, an international movement working to build bridges of trust across the world's divides. In that capacity he was able to support peace and reconciliation initiatives in Africa's Great Lakes region and in Sierra Leone. He continues to be a major player on the board of the Caux Foundation - the Swiss chapter of Initiatives of Change - and an active Chairman of the Swiss Cancer Society as well as a prominent personality on a number of charitable and corporate boards.

[edit] Family life

Despite an intense political and management career, Cornelio Sommaruga maintained strong family ties. Family gatherings were extremely meaningful to him in his early years, and as a result, Dr. Sommaruga has promoted strong family social values among his family just as in the institutions with which he worked. He married Ornella Marzorati in 1957 and he and his wife have six children. He and his family have preserved the ritual of annual family reunions at the same time each year.

[edit] Awards

Personalité suisse la plus populaire auprès des journalistes étrangers, Association de la Presse Etrangère en Suisse, 2003
Prix de la Fondation Dr. J.E. Brandenberger, 2003
North-South prize, Council of Europe, 2001
Culture, Canton of Basel, 1998
International Society for Human Rights, Swiss section, 1996
Josef Krainer, 1996
Century Foundation, BSI, 1995
Dr. Jean Mayer Award for Global Citizenship, Tufts University