100 Notable alumni of
University of Bern

Updated:

EduRank

The University of Bern is 528th in the world, 196th in Europe, and 6th in Switzerland by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of Bern sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. 1 individual affiliated with the University of Bern won Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine.

  1. John le Carré

    John le Carré
    Born in
    United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom
    Years
    1931-2020 (aged 89)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied in 1948-1949
    Occupations
    writerscreenwriteractorspyfilm producer
    Biography

    David John Moore Cornwell, better known by his pen name John le Carré, was a British Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophisticated, morally ambiguous writer", he is considered one of the greatest novelists of the postwar era. During the 1950s and 1960s, he worked for both the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Near the end of his life, due to his strong disapproval of Brexit, he took out Irish citizenship, which was possible due to his having an Irish grandparent.

  2. Walter Benjamin

    Walter Benjamin
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1892-1940 (aged 48)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Graduated with doctorate
    Occupations
    translatorwriterphilosopherliterary criticliterary historian
    Biography

    Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Romanticism, Western Marxism, Jewish mysticism, and Neo-Kantianism, Benjamin made enduring and influential contributions to aesthetic theory, literary criticism, and historical materialism. He was associated with the Frankfurt School, and also maintained formative friendships with thinkers such as playwright Bertolt Brecht and Kabbalah scholar Gershom Scholem. He was related to German political theorist and philosopher Hannah Arendt through her first marriage to Benjamin's cousin Günther Anders though the friendship between Arendt and Benjamin outlasted her marriage to Anders. Both Arendt and Anders were students of Martin Heidegger, whom Benjamin considered a nemesis.

  3. Friedrich Dürrenmatt

    Friedrich Dürrenmatt
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1921-1990 (aged 69)
    Occupations
    writerscreenwriterpoetpainterplaywright
    Biography

    Friedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophical crime novels, and macabre satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of Olten.

  4. Grigory Zinoviev

    Grigory Zinoviev
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1883-1936 (aged 53)
    Occupations
    politicianactor
    Biography

    Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. An Old Bolshevik, Zinoviev was a prominent figure in the leadership of the early Soviet Union and served as chairman of the Communist International (Comintern) from 1919 to 1926.

  5. Liselotte Pulver

    Liselotte Pulver
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1929-.. (age 95)
    Occupations
    film actorstage actorvoice actor
    Biography

    Liselotte Pulver, sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress. Pulver was one of the biggest stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, where she often was cast as a tomboy. She is well known for her hearty and joyful laughter. Her films outside of German cinema include A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), One, Two, Three (1961) and The Nun (1966).

  6. Hermann Rorschach

    Hermann Rorschach
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1884-1922 (aged 38)
    Occupations
    psychoanalystpsychiatrist
    Biography

    Hermann Rorschach was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. His education in art helped to spur the development of a set of inkblots that were used experimentally to measure various unconscious parts of the subject's personality. His method has come to be referred to as the Rorschach test, iterations of which have continued to be used over the years to help identify personality, psychotic, and neurological disorders. Rorschach continued to refine the test until his premature death at age 37.

  7. Jean Ziegler

    Jean Ziegler
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1934-.. (age 90)
    Occupations
    writerpoliticianuniversity teachersociologistphilosopher
    Biography

    Jean Ziegler is a Swiss former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and former vice-president of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He was previously Member of the Swiss Parliament for the Social Democrats from 1981 to 1999. He has also held several positions with the United Nations, especially as Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008, and as a member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council from 2008 to 2012. Ziegler has authored numerous works, is a lecturer, and is well known for this sentence: "A child who dies from hunger is a murdered child."

  8. Carla Del Ponte

    Carla Del Ponte
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1947-.. (age 77)
    Occupations
    judgelawyerpoliticianambassadorjurist
    Biography

    Carla Del Ponte is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in August 1999, replacing Louise Arbour.

  9. Walter Thurnherr

    Walter Thurnherr
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1963-.. (age 61)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied in 1987-1989
    Occupations
    civil servantpoliticianinternational forum participantdiplomat
    Biography

    Walter Thurnherr is a Swiss government official who served as Chancellor of Switzerland from 2016 to 2023. Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC). When it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre (DM/LC) in 2021, Thurnherr joined the new party.

  10. Casimir Funk

    Casimir Funk
    Born in
    Poland Flag Poland
    Years
    1884-1967 (aged 83)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    In 1904 graduated with doctorate
    Occupations
    chemistbiochemist
    Biography

    Kazimierz Funk, commonly anglicized as Casimir Funk, was a Polish and naturalized-American biochemist generally credited with being among the first to formulate (in 1912) the concept of vitamins, which he called "vital amines" or "vitamines".

  11. Nikolaj Velimirović

    Nikolaj Velimirović
    Born in
    Serbia Flag Serbia
    Years
    1880-1956 (aged 76)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    In 1908 graduated with doctorate in theology
    Occupations
    Eastern Orthodox priestwriterpoetphilosopherhagiographer
    Biography

    Nikolaj Velimirović was bishop of the eparchies of Ohrid and Žiča (1920–1956) in the Serbian Orthodox Church. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator, he was often referred to as the new John Chrysostom and historian Slobodan G. Markovich calls him "one of the most influential bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the twentieth century".

  12. Jeremias Gotthelf

    Jeremias Gotthelf
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1797-1854 (aged 57)
    Occupations
    parsonnovelistwritertheologian
    Biography

    Albert Bitzius was a Swiss novelist, best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf.

  13. Emil Theodor Kocher

    Emil Theodor Kocher
    Awards
    Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1909
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1841-1917 (aged 76)
    Occupations
    physiologistphysiciansurgeonuniversity teacher
    Biography

    Emil Theodor Kocher was a Swiss physician and medical researcher who received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. Among his many accomplishments are the introduction and promotion of aseptic surgery and scientific methods in surgery, specifically reducing the mortality of thyroidectomies below 1% in his operations.

  14. Albert Anker

    Albert Anker
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1831-1910 (aged 79)
    Occupations
    painterpottery painterillustrator
    Biography

    Albrecht Samuel Anker was a Swiss painter and illustrator who has been called the "national painter" of Switzerland because of his enduringly popular depictions of 19th-century Swiss social life.

  15. Dan Vasella

    Dan Vasella
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1953-.. (age 71)
    Occupations
    physicianbusinesspersoninternational forum participant
    Biography

    Daniel Lucius Vasella is a Swiss medical doctor, author, and executive who served as CEO and chairman of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, the world's fifth largest drug company. During his tenure Novartis shares fell 10%, compared to the industry average. In February 2013 Vasella was awarded close to $78 million in a "golden handshake"

  16. Carl Hahn

    Carl Hahn
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1926-2023 (aged 97)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    In 1952 graduated with Doctor of Economics
    Occupations
    businesspersonmanageruniversity teacherentrepreneur
    Biography

    Carl Horst Hahn was a German businessman and head of the Volkswagen Group from 1982 to 1993. He served as the chairman of the board of management of the parent company, Volkswagen AG (formerly Volkswagenwerk AG). During his tenure, the group's car production increased from two million units in 1982 to 3.5 million a decade later.

  17. Georg von Békésy

    Georg von Békésy
    Born in
    Hungary Flag Hungary
    Years
    1899-1972 (aged 73)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied in 1921
    Occupations
    engineerautobiographerbiophysicistuniversity teacherchemist
    Biography

    Georg von Békésy was a Hungarian-American biophysicist.

  18. Thomas Zurbuchen

    Thomas Zurbuchen
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1968-.. (age 56)
    Occupations
    astrophysicist
    Biography

    Thomas Hansueli Zurbuchen is a Swiss-American astrophysicist. From October 2016 until the end of 2022, he was the longest continually running Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA. Prior to this, he was Professor of Space Science and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he helped found the Center for Entrepreneurship.

  19. Kurt Wüthrich

    Kurt Wüthrich
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1938-.. (age 86)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied in 1957-1962
    Occupations
    biophysicistuniversity teacherchemist
    Biography

    Kurt Wüthrich is a Swiss chemist/biophysicist and Nobel Chemistry laureate, known for developing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods for studying biological macromolecules.

  20. René Fasel

    René Fasel
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1950-.. (age 74)
    Occupations
    ice hockey officialphysicianice hockey playerdentistsports official
    Biography

    René Fasel is a Swiss-Russian retired ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1994 to 2021. He started his ice hockey career as a player for HC Fribourg-Gottéron, in 1960, and became a referee in 1972. He became president of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation in 1985, then was elected president of the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1994. He also became an International Olympic Committee member and was elected to its executive board. Fasel was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2021.

  21. Petra Gössi

    Petra Gössi
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1976-.. (age 48)
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Petra Christina Antonella Gössi known as Petra Gössi is a Swiss attorney and politician. She currently serves as a member of the National Council for The Liberals since 2011. Previously she served on the Cantonal Council of Schwyz between 2004 and 2011. Since 2006, she has been a member of the management of The Liberals and between 2012 and 2016 was president of her political party.

  22. Harald Szeemann

    Harald Szeemann
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1933-2005 (aged 72)
    Occupations
    art historianart criticexhibition curator
    Biography

    Harald Szeemann was a Swiss curator, artist, and art historian. Having curated more than 200 exhibitions, many of which have been characterized as groundbreaking, Szeemann is said to have helped redefine the role of an art curator. It is believed that Szeemann elevated curating to a legitimate art form itself.

  23. Peter Maurer

    Peter Maurer
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1956-.. (age 68)
    Occupations
    diplomatpoliticianinternational forum participant
    Biography

    Peter Maurer is a Swiss diplomat who was the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1 July 2012 until October 2022 and is currently President of the Basel Institute on Governance.

  24. Eugen Gomringer

    Eugen Gomringer
    Born in
    Bolivia Flag Bolivia
    Years
    1925-.. (age 99)
    Occupations
    aestheticianwriteruniversity teacherart theoristliterary critic
    Biography

    Eugen Gomringer is a Bolivian-born German concrete poet. He is head of the Institut für Konstruktive Kunst und Konkrete Poesie (IKKP) in Rehau, Germany. Between 1977 and 1990, he was a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, the Arts Academy of the city of Düsseldorf. Gomringer writes in German, Spanish, French and English.

  25. Christa Rigozzi

    Christa Rigozzi
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1983-.. (age 41)
    Occupations
    television presentermodelbeauty pageant contestant
    Biography

    Christa Rigozzi is a Swiss beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Switzerland 2006 and represented her country at Miss Universe 2007.

  26. Majid Takht-Ravanchi

    Majid Takht-Ravanchi
    Born in
    Iran Flag Iran
    Years
    1958-.. (age 66)
    Occupations
    diplomatpoliticianinternational forum participant
    Biography

    Majid Takht-Ravanchi is an Iranian diplomat. He served as the Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations from 2019 to 2022.

  27. Samuel Schmid

    Samuel Schmid
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1947-.. (age 77)
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Samuel Schmid is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2000 to 2008. He was the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (notably acting as a defense minister for Switzerland).

  28. Tamara Funiciello

    Tamara Funiciello
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1990-.. (age 34)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied history
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Tamara Funiciello is a Swiss politician who currently serves as member of the National Council (Switzerland) since 2019 for the Social Democratic Party.

  29. Christa Markwalder

    Christa Markwalder
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1975-.. (age 49)
    Occupations
    politicianinternational forum participantlawyer
    Biography

    Christa Markwalder is a Swiss politician and former President of the National Council.

  30. Regula Rytz

    Regula Rytz
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1962-.. (age 62)
    Occupations
    schoolmistresspoliticianchairpersonsociologist
    Biography

    Regula Rytz is a Swiss historian and politician of the Green Party of Switzerland. She was a member of the National Council from 2011 to 2022. From 2012 to 2016, she was the co-president of the Green Party of Switzerland. She was the party president from 2016 to 2020.

  31. Adolpho Lutz

    Adolpho Lutz
    Born in
    Brazil Flag Brazil
    Years
    1855-1940 (aged 85)
    Occupations
    naturalistphysicianentomologistherpetologist
    Biography

    Adolfo Lutz was a Brazilian physician, father of tropical medicine and medical zoology in Brazil, and a pioneer epidemiologist and researcher in infectious diseases.

  32. Xavier Mertz

    Xavier Mertz
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1882-1913 (aged 31)
    Occupations
    mountaineeralpine skierexplorer
    Biography

    Xavier Guillaume Mertz was a Swiss polar explorer, mountaineer, and skier who took part in the Far Eastern Party, a 1912–1913 component of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which claimed his life. Mertz Glacier on the George V Coast in East Antarctica is named after him.

  33. Annemarie Huber-Hotz

    Annemarie Huber-Hotz
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1948-2019 (aged 71)
    Occupations
    politicianethnologistsociologist
    Biography

    Annemarie Huber-Hotz was a Swiss politician who served as the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland between 2000 and 2007. She was nominated by the FDP for the office, and elected to it on 15 December 1999. In 2011, she became President of the Swiss Red Cross and ex officio vice-president of the IFRC.

  34. Pedro Lenz

    Pedro Lenz
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1965-.. (age 59)
    Occupations
    writer
    Biography

    Pedro Lenz is a Swiss writer.

  35. Isala Van Diest

    Isala Van Diest
    Born in
    Belgium Flag Belgium
    Years
    1842-1916 (aged 74)
    Occupations
    physicianwomen's rights activist
    Biography

    Isala Van Diest was the first female medical doctor and the first female university graduate in Belgium.

  36. Simone Niggli-Luder

    Simone Niggli-Luder
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1978-.. (age 46)
    Occupations
    orienteer
    Biography

    Simone Niggli-Luder is a Swiss orienteering athlete who has twice won (in 2003 and 2005) all four women's competitions at the world championships. She is widely seen as one of the greatest orienteers of all time.

  37. Roberto Alemann

    Roberto Alemann
    Born in
    Argentina Flag Argentina
    Years
    1922-2020 (aged 98)
    Occupations
    university teacherwriterlawyereconomistjournalist
    Biography

    Roberto Alemann was an Argentine lawyer, economist, publisher, and academic.

  38. Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas

    Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas
    Born in
    Lithuania Flag Lithuania
    Years
    1880-1935 (aged 55)
    Occupations
    communistpoliticianrevolutionaryopinion journalist
    Biography

    Vincas Mickevičius, known under his pen name Kapsukas (7 April [O.S. 23 March] 1880 – 17 February 1935), was a Lithuanian communist political activist, publicist and revolutionary.

  39. Ludwig Schläfli

    Ludwig Schläfli
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1814-1895 (aged 81)
    Occupations
    university teachermathematician
    Biography

    Ludwig Schläfli was a Swiss mathematician, specialising in geometry and complex analysis (at the time called function theory) who was one of the key figures in developing the notion of higher-dimensional spaces. The concept of multidimensionality is pervasive in mathematics, has come to play a pivotal role in physics, and is a common element in science fiction.

  40. Fritz de Quervain

    Fritz de Quervain
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1868-1940 (aged 72)
    Occupations
    university teacherphysician writersurgeon
    Biography

    Fritz de Quervain was a Swiss surgeon born in Sion. He was a leading authority on thyroid disease.

  41. Yehezkel Kaufmann

    Yehezkel Kaufmann
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1889-1963 (aged 74)
    Occupations
    historianbiblical scholarphilosopher
    Biography

    Yehezkel Kaufmann was an Israeli philosopher and Biblical scholar associated with the Hebrew University. His main contribution to the study of biblical religion was his thesis that Israel's monotheism was not a gradual development from paganism but entirely new.

  42. Nina Christen

    Nina Christen
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1994-.. (age 30)
    Occupations
    sport shooter
    Biography

    Nina Christen is a Swiss sports shooter. She competed in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Games, winning bronze in 2020. Winning the 50 m rifle three positions event with an Olympic record, Christen became the first Swiss to claim a gold medal in women's Olympic shooting. She also won Bronze in the 10m air rifle event.

  43. Roger Nordmann

    Roger Nordmann
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1973-.. (age 51)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    1991-1996 graduated with Licentiate
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Roger Nicolas Nordmann is a Swiss politician who currently serves on the National Council for the Social Democratic Party since 2004. He has also been the president of the Social Democratic group.

  44. Alexander Schlichter

    Alexander Schlichter
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1868-1940 (aged 72)
    Occupations
    economistpolitician
    Biography

    Alexander Grigorievich Schlichter was a Ukrainian Bolshevik politician, Soviet statesman, political scientist and economist.

  45. Hugo Schiff

    Hugo Schiff
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1834-1915 (aged 81)
    Occupations
    chemistuniversity teacher
    Biography

    Hugo Schiff (26 April 1834 – 8 September 1915) was an Italian naturalized chemist. The son of a Jewish businessman and brother of the physiologist Moritz Schiff, Hugo Schiff was German by nationality. He discovered Schiff bases and other imines, and was responsible for research into aldehydes; leading to his development of the Schiff test. He also worked in the field of amino acids and the Biuret reagent.

  46. Ben-Zion Dinur

    Ben-Zion Dinur
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1884-1973 (aged 89)
    Occupations
    university teacherhistorianpedagoguewriterpolitician
    Biography

    Ben-Zion Dinur was a Zionist activist, educator, historian and Israeli politician.

  47. Franz Blei

    Franz Blei
    Born in
    Austria Flag Austria
    Years
    1871-1942 (aged 71)
    Occupations
    paintertranslatorwriterlinguistgraphic artist
    Biography

    Franz Blei was an essayist, playwright and translator. He was also noted as a bibliophile, a critic, an editor in chief and publisher. He was a friend and collaborator of Franz Kafka.

  48. Rudolf Gnägi

    Rudolf Gnägi
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1917-1985 (aged 68)
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Rudolf Gnägi was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1966–1979).

  49. Esther Friedli

    Esther Friedli
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1977-.. (age 47)
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Esther Barbara Friedli is a Swiss politician who currently serves on the Council of States (Switzerland) on 30 April 2023 and assumed office on 30 May 2023. She previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) for the Swiss People's Party since 2019. She is the domestic partner of Toni Brunner, former president of the Swiss People's Party and also a member of the National Council. Between 2008 and 2014, Friedli served as the secretary general of the Department of Education of the Canton of St. Gallen.

  50. Maksym Yefimov

    Maksym Yefimov
    Born in
    Kazakhstan Flag Kazakhstan
    Years
    1974-.. (age 50)
    Occupations
    politicianentrepreneur
    Biography

    Maxim Viktorovich Efimov is a Ukrainian politician and former People's Deputy of Ukraine from Ukraine's 48th electoral district from 2014 to December 2023. Formerly an independent and member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, and following this co-chair of Restoration of Ukraine alongside Igor Abramovych.

  51. Werner Munzinger

    Werner Munzinger
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1832-1875 (aged 43)
    Occupations
    explorer
    Biography

    Werner Munzinger was a Swiss administrator.

  52. César Roux

    César Roux
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1857-1934 (aged 77)
    Occupations
    physiciansurgeon
    Biography

    César Roux was a Swiss surgeon, who described the Roux-en-Y procedure.

  53. Ursula Wyss

    Ursula Wyss
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1973-.. (age 51)
    Occupations
    economistpolitician
    Biography

    Ursula Wyss is a Swiss politician, economist and urban planner. She represented the Canton of Bern in the Swiss National Council as member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) from 6 December 1999 to 3 March 2013. From January 2013 to December 2020 she was an executive member (Gemeinderätin) of the city of Bern.

  54. Günther Friedländer

    Günther Friedländer
    Born in
    Poland Flag Poland
    Years
    1902-1975 (aged 73)
    Occupations
    chemistindustrialist
    Biography

    Günther Friedländer was a German pharmacist, botanist, pharmacognosist, food chemist, an industrialist of medical products, and the founder of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.

  55. Haim Boger

    Haim Boger
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1876-1963 (aged 87)
    Occupations
    politicianeducator
    Biography

    Haim Boger was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the General Zionists between 1951 and 1955.

  56. Anna Christmann

    Anna Christmann
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1983-.. (age 41)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    2008-2013 graduated with doctorate
    Occupations
    scientistpolitician
    Biography

    Anna Christmann is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been a member of the Bundestag, the German parliament, since the 2017 German federal election.

  57. Hermann Sahli

    Hermann Sahli
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1856-1933 (aged 77)
    Occupations
    internisthematologistuniversity teacher
    Biography

    Hermann Sahli was a Swiss internist who was a native of Bern.

  58. Gustav Wiederkehr

    Gustav Wiederkehr
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1905-1972 (aged 67)
    Occupations
    entrepreneur
    Biography

    Gustav Max Wiederkehr was a Swiss football administrator. He served as UEFA President from 1962 to 1972.

  59. Jakob Stämpfli

    Jakob Stämpfli
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1820-1879 (aged 59)
    Occupations
    politicianjudgelawyer
    Biography

    Jakob Stämpfli was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1854–1863).

  60. Lyubov Axelrod

    Lyubov Axelrod
    Years
    1868-1946 (aged 78)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    In 1900 graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
    Occupations
    university teachernon-fiction writerman of letterspoliticianphilosopher
    Biography

    Lyubov Isaakovna Axelrod was a Russian revolutionary, Marxist philosopher and an art theoretician.

  61. Jurgis Šaulys

    Jurgis Šaulys
    Born in
    Lithuania Flag Lithuania
    Years
    1879-1948 (aged 69)
    Occupations
    diplomatpoliticianeconomist
    Biography

    Jurgis Šaulys was a Lithuanian economist, diplomat, and politician, and one of the twenty signatories to the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania.

  62. Rosa Schapire

    Rosa Schapire
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1874-1954 (aged 80)
    Occupations
    art historiantranslatorwriter
    Biography

    Rosa Schapire was an Austro-Hungarian-born art historian who lived in Germany and England. She was a model and art owner who gave early recognition to the Die Brücke group of artists.

  63. Anna Tumarkin

    Anna Tumarkin
    Born in
    Belarus Flag Belarus
    Years
    1875-1951 (aged 76)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied in 1895
    Occupations
    philosopherpsychologistsuffragetteprofessor
    Biography

    Anna Tumarkin was a Russian-born, naturalized Swiss academic, who was the first woman to become a professor of philosophy at the University of Bern. She was the first woman in Europe to be allowed to examine doctoral and professorial candidates and the first woman to sit as a member of a University Senate anywhere in Europe.

  64. Fulvio Pelli

    Fulvio Pelli
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1951-.. (age 73)
    Occupations
    notarypoliticianlawyer
    Biography

    Fulvio Pelli is a Swiss politician. He was the last president of the Free Democratic Party prior to its merger with the Liberal Party of Switzerland. After the merger of the two parties, he served as the first president of FDP.The Liberals from 2009 to 2012. Pelli was a member of the Swiss National Council from 1995 to 2014. He served in the communal legislature of Lugano from 1980 to 1990 and in the Grand Council of Ticino from 1983 to 1995.

  65. Kurt Fluri

    Kurt Fluri
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1955-.. (age 69)
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Kurt Fluri is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals (FDP), and a member of the National Council of Switzerland.

  66. Chaim Zhitlowsky

    Chaim Zhitlowsky
    Born in
    Belarus Flag Belarus
    Years
    1865-1943 (aged 78)
    Occupations
    writerpoliticianopinion journalistphilosopher
    Biography

    Chaim Zhitlowsky was a Jewish socialist, philosopher, social and political thinker, writer and literary critic born in Ushachy, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Usachy Raion, Vitebsk Region, Belarus).

  67. Achille Casanova

    Achille Casanova
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1941-2016 (aged 75)
    Occupations
    politicianjournalist
    Biography

    Achille Casanova was a Swiss journalist and politician. He held the office of Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland between 1981 and 2005, and during this time became the first official spokesman for the Swiss Federal Council when that role was created on 1 September 2000.

  68. Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner

    Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner
    Born in
    Lithuania Flag Lithuania
    Years
    1871-1935 (aged 64)
    Occupations
    biologistphysicianmycologist
    Biography

    Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner was a Jewish bacteriologist and physician, known for her research on tuberculosis and public health. She was the second woman to become a Professor in Prussia.

  69. Pirmin Bischof

    Pirmin Bischof
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1959-.. (age 65)
    Occupations
    politicianinternational forum participantlawyer
    Biography

    Pirmin Bischof is a Swiss politician who is a member of the Council of States of Switzerland.

  70. Dej Snidvongs

    Dej Snidvongs
    Born in
    Thailand Flag Thailand
    Years
    1898-1975 (aged 77)
    Occupations
    civil servant
    Biography

    Mom Luang Dej Snidvongs was a Thai honorary academic. He was the President of the Privy Council of Thailand to King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Governor of the Bank of Thailand in 1949 to 1952. He was given the title of Luang Dejsahakorn.

  71. Heidi Z'graggen

    Heidi Z'graggen
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1966-.. (age 58)
    Occupations
    politicianteacher
    Biography

    Adelheid Franziska Z’graggen commonly known as Heidi Z’graggen is a Swiss political scientist and politician who currently serves on the Council of States (Switzerland) for The Centre (previously Christian Democratic People's Party) since 2019. She previously served on the Executive Council of Uri between 2004 and 2020. In 2018, she was briefly a candidate for Federal Council (Switzerland) to succeed Doris Leuthard.

  72. Vladimir Medem

    Vladimir Medem
    Born in
    Latvia Flag Latvia
    Years
    1879-1923 (aged 44)
    Occupations
    trade unionistjournalist
    Biography

    Vladimir Davidovich Medem, né Grinberg, was a Russian Jewish politician and ideologue of the Jewish Labour Bund. The Medem Library in Paris, the largest European Yiddish institution, bears his name.

  73. Sophia Getzowa

    Sophia Getzowa
    Born in
    Lithuania Flag Lithuania
    Years
    1872-1946 (aged 74)
    Occupations
    scientistpathologist
    Biography

    Sophia Getzowa was a Belarusian-born pathologist and scientist in Mandatory Palestine. She grew up in a Jewish shtetl in Belarus and during her medical studies at the University of Bern, she became engaged to Chaim Weizmann, who would become the first president of Israel. Together they worked in the Zionist movement. After a four-year romance, Weizmann broke off their engagement and Getzowa returned to her medical studies, graduating in 1904. She carried out widely cited research on the thyroid, identifying solid cell nests (SCN) in 1907.

  74. Halil Edhem Eldem

    Halil Edhem Eldem
    Born in
    Turkey Flag Turkey
    Years
    1861-1938 (aged 77)
    Occupations
    archaeologistart historianpolitician
    Biography

    Halil Edhem Eldem, also known as Halil Edhem Bey was an Ottoman conservative politician, archaeologist and writer during the Second Constitutional Era. He was the son of Ibrahim Edhem Pasha.

  75. Ivande Kaija

    Ivande Kaija
    Born in
    Latvia Flag Latvia
    Years
    1876-1942 (aged 66)
    Occupations
    writer
    Biography

    Ivande Kaija was the pen name of Antonija Lūkina, Latvian writer and feminist, who fought for the independence of Latvia. Through public works and writing, Kaija advocated Latvians to donate assets to the "Gold Fund" which became the gold reserve of the country in 1920. Her public service was honored when she was bestowed the Order of the Three Stars in 1926. Though many of her works were destroyed during the Soviet period, they have seen a resurgence in recent years.

  76. József Marek

    József Marek
    Born in
    Slovakia Flag Slovakia
    Years
    1868-1952 (aged 84)
    Enrolled in the University of Bern
    Studied in 1898
    Occupations
    pathologistuniversity teacherveterinarianscientist
    Biography

    József Marek was a Hungarian veterinarian and scientist. Marek is best known for his discovery of the poultry disease that would eventually bear his name, Marek's disease. In his lifetime, Marek was known for his studies into various veterinary diseases, and particularly for his co-authorship of a textbook of veterinary internal medicine, which was translated into multiple languages and remained in print for over fifty years.

  77. Paul Charles Dubois

    Paul Charles Dubois
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1848-1918 (aged 70)
    Occupations
    neurologistpsychotherapist
    Biography

    Paul Charles Dubois was a Swiss neuropathologist who was a native of La Chaux-de-Fonds.

  78. Hugo Hadwiger

    Hugo Hadwiger
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1908-1981 (aged 73)
    Occupations
    mathematiciancryptographer
    Biography

    Hugo Hadwiger was a Swiss mathematician, known for his work in geometry, combinatorics, and cryptography.

  79. Eduard Müller

    Eduard Müller
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1848-1919 (aged 71)
    Occupations
    judgelawyerpoliticianjuristjournalist
    Biography

    Eduard Müller was a Swiss politician, Mayor of Bern (1888–1895), President of the Swiss National Council (1890/1891) and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1895–1919). He was a member of the Free Democratic Party.

  80. Corinne Schmidhauser

    Corinne Schmidhauser
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1964-.. (age 60)
    Occupations
    alpine skierpoliticianlawyer
    Biography

    Corinne Schmidhauser is a Swiss former alpine skier. In 1987, she won the World Cup in slalom. She also competed in the alpine skiing at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

  81. Peter Jenni

    Peter Jenni
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1948-.. (age 76)
    Occupations
    physicist
    Biography

    Peter Jenni, is an experimental particle physicist working at CERN. He is best known as one of the "founding fathers" of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider together with a few other colleagues. He acted as spokesperson (project leader) of the ATLAS Collaboration until 2009. ATLAS is a world-wide collaboration which started in 1992 involving roughly 3,000 physicists at 183 institutions in 38 countries. Jenni was directly involved in the experimental work leading to the discoveries of the W and Z bosons in the 1980s and the Higgs boson in 2012. He is (co-)author of about 1000 publications in scientific journals.

  82. Karl Scheurer

    Karl Scheurer
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1872-1929 (aged 57)
    Occupations
    politicianjudgelawyer
    Biography

    Karl Scheurer was a Swiss politician.

  83. Farhad Hafezi

    Farhad Hafezi
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1967-.. (age 57)
    Occupations
    ophthalmologistsurgeon
    Biography

    Farhad Hafezi is a prominent Swiss eye surgeon and researcher. Hafezi first gained recognition as a leading retina researcher in 1994, having been the first to discover a gene responsible for light-induced retinal degeneration. However, he changed his research focus to the cornea in 2003, and it is this work, particularly on corneal collagen cross-linking, which he helped pioneer, and advanced laser refractive surgery that he is internationally known for today. Hafezi's current clinical and laboratory research is focused on gaining a better understanding of the cornea. His research group at the University of Zurich has three main research foci:

  84. Johannes Fabry

    Johannes Fabry
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1860-1930 (aged 70)
    Occupations
    physiciandermatologist
    Biography

    Johannes Fabry was a German dermatologist.

  85. Peter Lampe

    Peter Lampe
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1954-.. (age 70)
    Occupations
    theologianarchaeologistuniversity teacher
    Biography

    Peter Lampe is a German Protestant theologian and chaired Professor of New Testament Studies/History of Early Christianity at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

  86. Lev Khinchuk

    Lev Khinchuk
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1868-1939 (aged 71)
    Occupations
    politiciandiplomat
    Biography

    Lev Mikhailovich Khinchuk was originally a member of the Menshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) until 1919, when he applied for membership of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). He was elected a member of the executive committee of the Saint Petersburg Soviet during the 1905 Russian Revolution. Following its defeat he was voted onto the executive committee of the 4th Central Committee of the RSDLP.

  87. Edith Pechey

    Edith Pechey
    Born in
    United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom
    Years
    1845-1908 (aged 63)
    Occupations
    physiciansuffragettewriter
    Biography

    Mary Edith Pechey was one of the first women medical doctors in the United Kingdom and a campaigner for women's rights. She spent more than 20 years in India as a senior doctor at a women's hospital and was involved in a range of social causes.

  88. Georges Delnon

    Georges Delnon
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1958-.. (age 66)
    Occupations
    film directoruniversity teacherartistic directorintendant
    Biography

    Georges Delnon is a Swiss theatre director, artistic director and professor. From 2006 to 2015 he was the artistic director of the Theater Basel and he took over the management of the Hamburg State Opera in 2015.

  89. Marc Lauenstein

    Marc Lauenstein
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1980-.. (age 44)
    Occupations
    orienteer
    Biography

    Marc Lauenstein is a Swiss orienteering competitor and runner. He received a silver medal on the long distance at the 2005 World Orienteering Championships in Aichi, and again in Aarhus in 2006. He earned a bronze medal in 2005 as a member of the Swiss relay team.

  90. Ludwig Ruetimeyer

    Ludwig Ruetimeyer
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1825-1895 (aged 70)
    Occupations
    anatomistuniversity teachergeologistscientific illustratorzoologist
    Biography

    (Karl) Ludwig Rütimeyer (February 26, 1825, in Biglen, Canton of Bern – November 25, 1895, in Basel) was a Swiss zoologist, anatomist and paleontologist, who is considered one of the fathers of zooarchaeology.

  91. Thomas Grimm

    Thomas Grimm
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1959-.. (age 65)
    Occupations
    lawyer
    Biography

    Thomas Grimm is a Swiss jurist and football functionary, who has served as the president of the Ukrainian Premier League since 2018.

  92. Chava Shapiro

    Chava Shapiro
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1876-1943 (aged 67)
    Occupations
    literary criticwriter
    Biography

    Chava Shapiro, known also by the pen name Em Kol Chai (Hebrew: אֵם כָּל חָי, lit. 'Mother of All Living'), was a Russian Jewish writer, critic, and journalist. A pioneer of Hebrew women's literature and feminist literary criticism, Shapiro was among the most prolific of the diasporic women writers of Hebrew in the early twentieth century.

  93. August R. Lindt

    August R. Lindt
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1905-2000 (aged 95)
    Occupations
    journalistjuristbankerdiplomat
    Biography

    Dr. August Rudolf Lindt, also known as Auguste R. Lindt, was a Swiss lawyer and diplomat. He served as Chairman of UNICEF in 1953 and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1956 to 1960.

  94. Hansruedi von Gunten

    Hansruedi von Gunten
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1928-2021 (aged 93)
    Occupations
    chemistuniversity teacher
    Biography

    Hansruedi von Gunten was a Swiss chemist and mountaineer. Together with Dolf Reist he succeeded on May 24, 1956, the third ascent of Mount Everest.

  95. Richard Meili

    Richard Meili
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1900-1991 (aged 91)
    Occupations
    psychologistuniversity teacher
    Biography

    Richard Meili was an internationally renowned scientist in practical psychology, diagnostics, personality development and intelligence.

  96. Bruno Messerli

    Bruno Messerli
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1931-2019 (aged 88)
    Occupations
    university teachergeographer
    Biography

    Bruno Messerli was a Swiss geographer and university professor who focused on high mountains and highland-lowland linkages. He was appointed Full Professor of Geomorphology in 1968 by the University of Bern, where he taught and carried out research until his retirement in 1996. He contributed significantly to the inclusion of a mountain agenda, Chapter 13 — Managing Fragile Ecosystems — Sustainable Mountain Development in Agenda 21, the official action plan of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Rio Summit, the Rio Conference, and the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June in 1992.

  97. Daniel Fässler

    Daniel Fässler
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1960-.. (age 64)
    Occupations
    politician
    Biography

    Daniel Fässler is a Swiss politician who is a member of the Council of States of Switzerland.

  98. Alexander Tschirch

    Alexander Tschirch
    Born in
    Germany Flag Germany
    Years
    1856-1939 (aged 83)
    Occupations
    university teacherpharmacistmycologist
    Biography

    Alexander Tschirch was a German-Swiss pharmacist born in Guben.

  99. Otto Lanz

    Otto Lanz
    Born in
    Switzerland Flag Switzerland
    Years
    1865-1935 (aged 70)
    Occupations
    university teachersurgeon
    Biography

    Otto Lanz was a Swiss surgeon.

  100. Rosa Welt-Straus

    Rosa Welt-Straus
    Born in
    Ukraine Flag Ukraine
    Years
    1856-1938 (aged 82)
    Occupations
    suffragetteophthalmologist
    Biography

    Rosa Welt-Straus was a suffragist and feminist. Born in the Austrian Empire, she was the first girl in that country to graduate from high school, and the first Austrian woman to earn a medical degree, as well as the first female eye doctor in Europe.