100 Notable Alumni of University of Lausanne [Sorted List]

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Born in: United States
Years: 1927-2016 (aged 89)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 1945-1951
Occupations: military officersocial workersaxophonistpainterjazz musician
Biography: Bhumibol Adulyadej, conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great (officially conferred by King Vajiralongkorn in 2019), was the ninth King of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IX. Reigning from 1946 until his death in 2016, he is the third-longest verified reigning sovereign monarch in world history after King Louis XIV and Queen Elizabeth II, reigning for 70 years and 126 days. His reign of over 70 years is the longest reign of any Thai monarch, and the longest native rule of any Asian sovereign.

Sepp Blatter

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1936-.. (age 88)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: In 1958 graduated with Diplom in general economics; In 1959 graduated with bachelor's degree
Occupations: economistice hockey playerpoliticiansports official
Biography: Joseph Sepp Blatter is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of the FIFA corruption case made public that year, and will remain banned until 2027.

Ananda Mahidol

Born in: Germany
Years: 1925-1946 (aged 21)
Occupations: monarchsocial workermilitary officer
Biography: Ananda Mahidol was the eighth King of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland. He returned to Thailand in December 1945, but six months later, in June 1946, he was found shot dead in his bed. Although at first thought to have been an accident, his death was ruled a murder by medical examiners, and three royal aides were later executed following very irregular trials. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death have been the subject of much controversy.

Beatrix von Storch

Born in: Germany
Years: 1971-.. (age 53)
Occupations: politicianlawyer
Biography: Beatrix Amelie Ehrengard Eilika von Storch is a German politician and lawyer, who has been the Deputy Leader of the Alternative for Germany since July 2015 and a Member of the Bundestag since September 2017. She previously was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany. From April 2016 to 2017 she was also a member of the right-wing populist Anti-EU group Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy. She is part of the right-wing conservative wing of the parliamentary group of the AfD. She belongs ancestrally to the royal House of Oldenburg which reigned over the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg until 1918.

Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk

Born in: Germany
Years: 1887-1977 (aged 90)
Occupations: diplomatpoliticianmilitary personneleconomistjurist
Biography: Johann Ludwig "Lutz" Graf Schwerin von Krosigk was a German senior government official who served as the minister of finance of Germany from 1932 to 1945 and de facto chancellor of Germany during May 1945.

Prince Bernhard, Prince Consort of the Netherlands

Born in: Germany
Years: 1911-2004 (aged 93)
Occupations: military officerconservationistphotographermilitary commanderaircraft pilot
Biography: Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld was Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen Juliana. They had four daughters together, including Beatrix, who was Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 to 2013.

Jonas Malheiro Savimbi

Born in: Angola
Years: 1934-2002 (aged 68)
Occupations: partisanpolitician
Biography: Jonas Malheiro Savimbi was Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule from 1966 to 1974, then confronted the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) during the Angolan Civil War. Savimbi was killed in a clash with government troops in 2002.

Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh

Born in: Iran
Years: 1892-1997 (aged 105)
Occupations: translatorwriterpoetlinguisthistorian
Biography: Mohammad-Ali Jamālzādeh Esfahani was one of the most prominent writers of Iran in the 20th century, best known for his unique style of humour. In view of his vast influence over Persian short story writing, he is often referred to as the father of this genre in Iran.

Galyani Vadhana

Born in: United Kingdom
Years: 1923-2008 (aged 85)
Occupations: university teacherwriterlinguisthelicopter pilotsocial worker
Biography: Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Naradhiwas was a princess of Thailand and the elder sister of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). She was also a direct granddaughter of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), and aunt of King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X).

Bernhard von Bülow

Born in: Germany
Years: 1849-1929 (aged 80)
Occupations: statespersonauthorpoliticiandiplomat
Biography: Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow was a German statesman who served as the chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia from 1900 to 1909. A fervent supporter of Weltpolitik, Bülow devoted his chancellorship to transforming Germany into a global power. Despite presiding over sustained economic growth and major technological advancement, his government's foreign policy did much to antagonize France and Great Britain, which contributed significantly to Germany's defeat in the First World War.

Bertrand Piccard

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1958-.. (age 66)
Occupations: balloonistpsychiatristexplorerinternational forum participant
Biography: Bertrand Piccard FRSGS is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and environmentalist. Along with Brian Jones, he was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe, in a balloon named Breitling Orbiter 3. He was the initiator, chairman, and pilot, with André Borschberg, of Solar Impulse, the first successful round-the-world solar-powered flight. In 2012 Piccard was awarded a Champions of the Earth award by the UN Environment Programme. He is the founder and chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation.

Alexandre Yersin

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1863-1943 (aged 80)
Occupations: bacteriologistbiologistexplorerphysicianagronomist
Biography: Alexandre Emile Jean Yersin was a Swiss-French physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the bacillus responsible for the bubonic plague or pest, which was later named in his honour: Yersinia pestis. Another bacteriologist, the Japanese physician Kitasato Shibasaburō, is often credited with independently identifying the bacterium a few days earlier. Yersin also demonstrated for the first time that the same bacillus was present in the rodent as well as in the human disease, thus underlining the possible means of transmission.

Frank Wedekind

Born in: Germany
Years: 1864-1918 (aged 54)
Occupations: stage actorplaywrightwriterscreenwriteractor
Biography: Benjamin Franklin Wedekind was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the development of epic theatre.

Joachim Son-Forget

Born in: South Korea
Years: 1983-.. (age 41)
Occupations: researcherpoliticianradiologist
Biography: Joachim Jean-Marie Forget, known as Joachim Son-Forget is a South Korean-born French politician. Holding a doctorate in neuroscience, he also works part-time as a radiologist in Switzerland. He has held Kosovar citizenship since 2018.

Hocine Aït Ahmed

Born in: Algeria
Years: 1926-2015 (aged 89)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Hocine Aït Ahmed was an Algerian politician. He was founder and leader until 2009 of the historical political opposition in Algeria.

Moritz Schlick

Born in: Germany
Years: 1882-1936 (aged 54)
Occupations: physicistuniversity teacherphilosopherphilosopher of science
Biography: Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick was a German philosopher, physicist, and the founding father of logical positivism and the Vienna Circle.

Frère Roger

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1915-2005 (aged 90)
Occupations: theologian
Biography: Roger Schutz, popularly known as Brother Roger (French: Frère Roger), was a Swiss Christian leader and monastic brother. In 1940 Schutz founded the Taizé Community, an ecumenical monastic community in Burgundy, France, serving as its first prior until his murder in 2005. Towards the end of his life, the Taizé Community was attracting international attention, welcoming thousands of young pilgrims every week, which it has continued to do after his death.

Juan Sartori

Born in: Uruguay
Years: 1981-.. (age 43)
Occupations: politicianbusinessperson
Biography: Juan José Sartori Piñeyro is a Uruguayan businessman, senator and co-owner of Sunderland. He is the president and founder of Union Group, a privately owned investment management and private equity firm that holds significant interests across an array of industries worldwide, including agriculture, technology, energy and real estate.

Michel Mayor

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1942-.. (age 82)
Occupations: physicistastronomerastrophysicistuniversity teacher
Biography: Michel Gustave Édouard Mayor is a Swiss astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the University of Geneva's Department of Astronomy. He formally retired in 2007, but remains active as a researcher at the Observatory of Geneva. He is co-laureate of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Jim Peebles and Didier Queloz, and the winner of the 2010 Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize and the 2015 Kyoto Prize.

Vera Gedroits

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1870-1932 (aged 62)
Occupations: writerphysician writersurgeonpoetphysician
Biography: Princess Vera Ignatievna Gedroits was a Russian doctor of medicine and author. She was the first woman military surgeon in Russia, the first woman professor of surgery, and the first woman to serve as a physician to the Imperial Court of Russia.

Jean-Claude Biver

Born in: Luxembourg
Years: 1949-.. (age 75)
Occupations: international forum participantbusinessperson
Biography: Jean-Claude Biver is a Luxembourg-born Swiss businessman, executive and cheesemaker. He previously served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of TAG Heuer. From 2014 until 2018, he was the president of LVMH's watchmaking division until his retirement after 43 years in the industry.

Théophile Steinlen

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1859-1923 (aged 64)
Occupations: poster artistarchitectural draftspersonlithographerdesignerprintmaker
Biography: Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. He was politically engaged and collaborated with anarchist and socialist press.

Shaul Tchernichovsky

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1875-1943 (aged 68)
Occupations: writerpoetphysiciantranslatorIliad's translator
Biography: Shaul Tchernichovsky or Saul Gutmanovich Tchernichovsky (Russian: Саул Гутманович Черниховский; 20 August 1875 – 14 October 1943) was a Russian-born Hebrew poet. He is considered one of the great Hebrew poets, identified with nature poetry, and as a poet greatly influenced by the culture of ancient Greece.

Michel Pastoureau

Born in: France
Years: 1947-.. (age 77)
Occupations: historianresearch fellow
Biography: Michel Pastoureau is a French professor of medieval history and an expert in Western symbology.

İsmail Cem İpekçi

Born in: Turkey
Years: 1940-2007 (aged 67)
Occupations: diplomatwriterpoliticianphotographerjournalist
Biography: İsmail Cem was a Turkish centre-leftist politician, intellectual, writer, author and journalist who served as the Minister of Culture of Turkey from July 7 to October 26, 1995, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from June 30, 1997 to July 11, 2002.

Hans Fischer

Born in: Germany
Years: 1881-1945 (aged 64)
Occupations: internistuniversity teacherphysicianbiochemistchemist
Biography: Hans Fischer was a German organic chemist and the recipient of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Chemistry "for his researches into the constitution of haemin and chlorophyll and especially for his synthesis of haemin."

Philippe Jaccottet

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1925-2021 (aged 96)
Occupations: translatorwriterpoet
Biography: Philippe Jaccottet was a Swiss Francophone poet and translator.

Hassan Emami

Born in: Iran
Years: 1903-1981 (aged 78)
Occupations: judge
Biography: Sayyid Hassan Emami was an Iranian Shia cleric and royalist politician. He worked as a judge in the Ministry of Justice and taught law at the University of Tehran.

Leonard Jeffries

Born in: United States
Years: 1937-.. (age 87)
Occupations: academic
Biography: Leonard Jeffries Jr. is an American political scientist and academic. He was the departmental chair of Black Studies at the City College of New York, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). He was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He is the uncle of U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Ohio State University historian Hasan Kwame Jeffries.

Jacques Dubochet

Awards: Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017
Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1942-.. (age 82)
Occupations: molecular biologist
Biography: Jacques Dubochet is a retired Swiss biophysicist. He is a former researcher at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, and an honorary professor of biophysics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Alexander Osterwalder

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1974-.. (age 50)
Occupations: writeruniversity teacherpolitical scientistentrepreneurbusiness theorist
Biography: Alexander Osterwalder is a Swiss business theorist, author, speaker, consultant, and entrepreneur, known for his work on business modeling and the development of the Business Model Canvas.

Charles Ferdinand Ramuz

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1878-1947 (aged 69)
Occupations: librettistwriterpoet
Biography: Charles Ferdinand Ramuz was a French-speaking Swiss writer.

Claude Nicollier

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1944-.. (age 80)
Occupations: physicistastronautastrophysicistaircraft pilot
Biography: Claude Nicollier is the first astronaut from Switzerland. He has flown on four Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight (STS-46) was in 1992, and his final spaceflight (STS-103) was in 1999. He took part in two servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope (called STS-61 and STS-103). During his final spaceflight he participated in a spacewalk, becoming the first European Space Agency astronaut to do so during a Space Shuttle mission (previous ESA astronauts conducted spacewalks aboard Mir, see List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999). In 2000 he was assigned to the Astronaut Office Extravehicular Activity Branch, while maintaining a position as Lead ESA Astronaut in Houston. Nicollier retired from ESA in April 2007.

Michael Piazolo

Born in: Germany
Years: 1959-.. (age 65)
Occupations: juristpoliticianuniversity teacherpolitical scientist
Biography: Michael Piazolo is a German Free Voter politician, lawyer and political scientist. In 2018 he was appointed as the Bavarian State Minister for Culture and Education in Minister President Söder's second Cabinet.

Gaston Thorn

Born in: Luxembourg
Years: 1928-2007 (aged 79)
Occupations: diplomatlawyerpoliticianbankerresistance fighter
Biography: Gaston Egmond Thorn was a Luxembourgish politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally. Amongst the posts that he held were the 20th prime minister of Luxembourg (1974–1979), President of the United Nations General Assembly (1975), and the seventh president of the European Commission (1981–1985).

Karl III Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach

Born in: Germany
Years: 1679-1738 (aged 59)
Occupations: margrave
Biography: Charles III William was Margrave of Baden-Durlach between 1709 and 1738. He was the son of Margrave Frederick Magnus of Baden-Durlach and Augusta Maria of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. In 1715, he established Karlsruhe (Charles' repose), where he built his residence. Karlsruhe has since grown to a large city. With the consolidation of public finances and the creation of a reliable administration, he laid the foundations for the reform policies of his grandson, Charles Frederick.

Ernest Ansermet

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1883-1969 (aged 86)
Occupations: musicologistconductorcomposermusician
Biography: Ernest Alexandre Ansermet was a Swiss conductor.

Şemsettin Günaltay

Born in: Turkey
Years: 1883-1961 (aged 78)
Occupations: academichistorianpoliticianprofessor
Biography: Mehmet Şemsettin Günaltay was a Turkish historian, politician, and Prime Minister of Turkey from 1949 to 1950.

Marcel Bezençon

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1907-1981 (aged 74)
Occupations: journalist
Biography: Marcel Bezençon was a Swiss journalist, media executive and the director of the European Broadcasting Union between 1954 and 1970. In 1955, he conceived the idea of the Eurovision Song Contest, based on the famous Sanremo Music Festival.

Pascal Couchepin

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1942-.. (age 82)
Occupations: international forum participantpolitician
Biography: Pascal Couchepin is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1998 to 2009. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD), he was President of the Swiss Confederation twice, in 2003 and 2008. Couchepin headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and Federal Department of Home Affairs from 2003 until 2009.

Johannes Popitz

Born in: Germany
Years: 1884-1945 (aged 61)
Occupations: juristeconomistpoliticianresistance fighter
Biography: Johannes Popitz was a Prussian lawyer, finance minister and a member of the German Resistance against the government of Nazi Germany. He was the father of Heinrich Popitz, an important German sociologist.

Lauriane Gilliéron

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1984-.. (age 40)
Occupations: actormodelbeauty pageant contestant
Biography: Lauriane Gilliéron is a Swiss actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Switzerland 2005 on 21 September 2005 and represented Switzerland at Miss World 2005 in China but unplaced, she also competed at Miss Universe 2006 in United States where she placed 2nd runner-up.

Jean Piccard

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1884-1963 (aged 79)
Occupations: balloonistuniversity teacherchemistengineeraircraft pilot
Biography: Jean Felix Piccard, also known as Jean Piccard, was a Swiss-born American chemist, engineer, professor and high-altitude balloonist. He invented clustered high-altitude balloons, and with his wife Jeannette, the plastic balloon. Piccard's inventions and co-inventions are used in balloon flight, aircraft and spacecraft.

Patrick Baumann

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1967-2018 (aged 51)
Occupations: basketball playerbasketball officialbasketball coachjuristsports official
Biography: Patrick Baumann was a Swiss basketball executive, player and coach. He was the President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations and Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). He was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

Jacques Chessex

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1934-2009 (aged 75)
Occupations: painterwriterpoet
Biography: Jacques Chessex was a Swiss author and painter.

Mohammad Sa'ed

Born in: Iran
Years: 1881-1973 (aged 92)
Occupations: politiciandiplomat
Biography: Mohammad Sa'ed Maraghei was the 27th Prime Minister of Iran.

Alp Yalman

Born in: Turkey
Years: 1940-.. (age 84)
Occupations: businessperson
Biography: Alp Yalman is a Turkish businessman and former chairman of the Turkish sports club Galatasaray.

Jean-Pascal Delamuraz

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1936-1998 (aged 62)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Jean-Pascal Delamuraz was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1983–1998).

Isabelle Moret

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1970-.. (age 54)
Occupations: politicianinternational forum participantlawyer
Biography: Isabelle Moret is a Swiss politician who served as President of the National Council from 2019 to 2020. A member of FDP.The Liberals since its foundation in 2009, she first entered the National Council in 2006 as a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD). Moret is a resident of Yens-sur-Morges in the canton of Vaud.

Ottmar Schreiner

Born in: Germany
Years: 1946-2013 (aged 67)
Occupations: politicianlawyer
Biography: Ottmar Schreiner was a German lawyer and left-wing politician. He was known as one of the leading leftists in his party, SPD.

Yomi Denzel Olaniyi

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1996-.. (age 28)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 2016-2019
Occupations: entrepreneurbusinesspersonYouTuber
Biography: Yomi Denzel Nicolas Olaniyi, is a Swiss entrepreneur and YouTuber.

Henri François Pittier

Born in: Venezuela
Years: 1857-1950 (aged 93)
Occupations: botanical collectorengineernaturalistbotanist
Biography: Henri François Pittier de Fabrega was a Swiss-born geographer and botanist who started Venezuelan National Park history.

Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen

Born in: Germany
Years: 1954-.. (age 70)
Occupations: politicianjurist
Biography: Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen is a German politician, lawyer and administrative officer. who served as State Minister of Culture and Science in the governments of Minister-Presidents Armin Laschet and Hendrik Wüst of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2017 to 2022. Since 2023 she is managing director of the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation in Munich.

Elisa Shua Dusapin

Born in: France
Years: 1992-.. (age 32)
Occupations: writer
Biography: Elisa Shua Dusapin, born 23 October 1992 in Sarlat-la-Canéda, France, is a Franco-Korean writer currently living in Switzerland.

Ruben Sevak

Born in: Turkey
Years: 1885-1915 (aged 30)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 1911
Occupations: physicianwriterpoet
Biography: Rupen Chilingiryan was an Armenian poet, prose-writer, and doctor. He was sent to a concentration camp along with Siamanto and Daniel Varoujan during the Armenian Genocide.

Georges de Rham

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1903-1990 (aged 87)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 1921-1925
Occupations: university teachertopologistmathematician
Biography: Georges de Rham was a Swiss mathematician, known for his contributions to differential topology.

Pierre-Yves Maillard

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1968-.. (age 56)
Occupations: politiciantrade unionist
Biography: Pierre-Yves Maillard is a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party. He was successively a deputy for the canton of Vaud on the National Council (from the end of 1999 to the end of 2004), a member of the Council of State of Vaud at the head of the department of health and social action (from the end of 2004 to May 2019), again national advisor (from the end of 2019 to the end of 2023) and advisor to the states since the end of 2023.

Konrad Fiedler

Born in: Germany
Years: 1841-1895 (aged 54)
Occupations: art collectorwriterart historianart theorist
Biography: Adolph Konrad Fiedler or Conrad Fiedler was a German art historian, art collector and writer. Fiedler was one of the most important German art theorist of the 19th century.

Sabine Sütterlin-Waack

Born in: Germany
Years: 1958-.. (age 66)
Occupations: politicianlawyer
Biography: Sabine Sütterlin-Waack is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She currently serves as State Minister of the Interior, Municipal Affairs, Housing and Sports in the State of Schleswig-Holstein.

Ali Lutfi Mahmud

Born in: Egypt
Years: 1935-2018 (aged 83)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Graduated with doctorate in economics
Occupations: economistpolitician
Biography: Aly Lotfy Mahmoud was an Egyptian politician and prime minister.

Avedis Aharonyan

Born in: Turkey
Years: 1866-1948 (aged 82)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 1898-1901
Occupations: politicianwriterteacher
Biography: Avetis Aharonian was an Armenian politician, writer, public figure and revolutionary, also part of the Armenian national movement.

Cesla Amarelle

Born in: Uruguay
Years: 1973-.. (age 51)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Cesla Virginia Amarelle is an Uruguayan-Swiss jurist and politician. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland and a professor of law at University of Neuchâtel.

Chrysostomos II of Athens

Born in: Turkey
Years: 1880-1968 (aged 88)
Occupations: Christian minister
Biography: Chrysostomos II was Archbishop of Athens and All Greece from 14 February 1962 to 11 May 1967.

Ada Marra

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1973-.. (age 51)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Ada Marra is a Swiss political figure and a member of the Swiss Socialist Party.

Max Huber

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1874-1960 (aged 86)
Occupations: diplomatjudgeuniversity teacherpoliticianjurist
Biography: Hans Max Huber was a Swiss lawyer and diplomat who represented Switzerland at a series of international conferences and institutions.

Géraldine Savary

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1968-.. (age 56)
Occupations: journalistpoliticianeditor-in-chief
Biography: Géraldine Savary is a journalist and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP), former member of the National Council and the Council of States and the current director of the Federal Commission of the Swiss postal services, PostCom.

Erich Koch-Weser

Born in: Germany
Years: 1875-1944 (aged 69)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Erich Koch-Weser was a German lawyer and liberal politician. One of the founders (1918) and later chairman (1924–1930) of the liberal German Democratic Party, he served as minister of the Interior (1919–1921), vice-chancellor of Germany (1920) and minister of Justice (1928–1929).

Hamo Ohanjanyan

Born in: Georgia
Years: 1873-1947 (aged 74)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: In 1901 graduated with Doctor of Medicine
Occupations: diplomatpoliticianphysician
Biography: Hamazasp "Hamo" Ohanjanyan was an Armenian medical doctor, revolutionary, and politician of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF/Dashnaktsutiun). He served as the third Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from May 5 to November 23, 1920.

Numan Menemencioğlu

Born in: Iraq
Years: 1893-1958 (aged 65)
Occupations: politiciandiplomat
Biography: Hüseyin Numan Menemencioğlu was a Turkish diplomat and politician.

Alexandre Vinet

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1797-1847 (aged 50)
Occupations: university teacherhistoriantheologianwriterphilosopher
Biography: Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet was a Swiss literary critic and theologian.

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

Born in: Germany
Years: 1958-.. (age 66)
Occupations: businessperson
Biography: Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is Co-President of Chopard along with his sister, Caroline, and President of La Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud. He is the son of Karl and Karin Scheufele, German entrepreneurs who acquired Chopard in 1963. In 2005, he established the Fleurier Quality Foundation, an independent Swiss watch certification body, and he founded the L.U.C.EUM watch museum in Fleurier a year later.

Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig

Born in: Germany
Years: 1941-.. (age 83)
Occupations: juristpoliticianuniversity teacherjudge
Biography: Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig is a German jurist. He currently holds the chair for public law at the University of Kiel. A member of the Free Democratic Party, he served as Federal Minister of Justice in the Fifth Kohl cabinet between 1996 and 1998.

Jacques Poos

Born in: Luxembourg
Years: 1935-2022 (aged 87)
Occupations: bankereconomistpoliticiandiplomat
Biography: Jacques François Poos was a Luxembourgish politician from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).

Adèle Thorens Goumaz

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1971-.. (age 53)
Occupations: international forum participantpolitician
Biography: Adèle Thorens Goumaz is a Swiss politician. She has been a member of the Council of States since December 2019. Previously, she served in the National Council of Switzerland from the Canton of Vaud from 2007 to 2019. She was elected as the co-president of the Green Party of Switzerland with Regula Rytz in 2012 and announced that she would not run for re-election in 2016, leaving the post solely in Rytz's hands.

François Couchepin

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1935-2023 (aged 88)
Occupations: politicianlawyerjurist
Biography: François Couchepin was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as Chancellor of Switzerland from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the now-defunct Free Democratic Party of Switzerland (FDP/PRD).

Eduardo Posada Flórez

Born in: Colombia
Years: 1942-.. (age 82)
Occupations: physicist
Biography: Eduardo Posada Flórez is a Colombian physicist and the executive director of COMSATS’ Centre of Excellence in Colombia, the International Centre of Physics (CIF), and is the chairperson of COMSATS’ Coordinating Council, comprising the Heads of Centres of Excellence.

Anja Weisgerber

Born in: Germany
Years: 1976-.. (age 48)
Occupations: politicianlawyer
Biography: Anja Weisgerber is a German lawyer and politician. She currently is a member of the German Bundestag representing Schweinfurt for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), part of the European People's Party (EPP). She previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Bavaria. In addition to her political work, she serves as of counsel at the Frankfurt office of German law firm GSK Stockmann & Kollegen.

Amin al-Hafez

Born in: Lebanon
Years: 1926-2009 (aged 83)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Amin al-Hafez was the prime minister of Lebanon from 25 April 1973 to 21 June 1973. He was also a long-running Member of Parliament for Tripoli in the Lebanese Parliament until 1996.

Zofia Zamenhof

Born in: Lithuania
Years: 1889-1942 (aged 53)
Occupations: Esperantistpediatrician
Biography: Zofia Zamenhof was a Polish pediatrician and the daughter of Klara (Silbernik) and L. L. Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto.

Philippe Lazzarini

Years: 1964-.. (age 60)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Graduated with master's degree in business administration
Occupations: economistadministrator
Biography: Philippe Lazzarini is a Swiss-Italian who has been serving as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2020.

Valentine Telegdi

Born in: Hungary
Years: 1922-2006 (aged 84)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 1946
Occupations: university teacherphysicist
Biography: Valentine Louis Telegdi was a Hungarian-born American physicist. He was the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago before he moved to ETH Zürich.

Suzette Sandoz

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1942-.. (age 82)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Suzette Sandoz, born Suzette Monod in Lausanne on 12 January 1942, is a professor of law and a Swiss political figure and member of the Liberal Party of Switzerland.

Henri Druey

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1799-1855 (aged 56)
Occupations: politicianphilosopherlawyer
Biography: Daniel-Henri Druey was a Swiss politician of the 19th century. He was a founding father of constitutional democracy and member of the Free Democratic Party in Switzerland.

Katharina Borchert

Born in: Germany
Years: 1972-.. (age 52)
Occupations: international forum participantjournalist
Biography: Katharina Borchert is the Chief Innovation Officer at Mozilla. She is a German journalist and was previously the managing director at Spiegel Online. Borchert served on the Mozilla Board of Directors from 2014 to 2015, before her appointment as CIO.

Luc Recordon

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1955-.. (age 69)
Occupations: politician
Biography: Luc Recordon is a Swiss politician. He is a member of the Green Party of Switzerland and represented Vaud in the Swiss National Council from 2003 to 2007 and in the Swiss Council of States from 2007 to 2015.

Paul Jaccard

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1868-1944 (aged 76)
Occupations: botanistuniversity teachermathematician
Biography: Paul Jaccard was a professor of botany and plant physiology at the ETH Zurich. He studied at the University of Lausanne and ETH Zurich (PhD 1894). He continued studies in Paris with Gaston Bonnier. He developed the Jaccard index of similarity (he called it coefficient de communauté) and published it in 1901. He also introduced the use of the species-to-genus ratio (he called it generic coefficient) in biogeography. In the 1920s, Paul Jaccard engaged in a dispute with the Finnish botanist and phytogeographer Alvar Palmgren over the interpretation of species-to-genus ratio, as evidence of competitive exclusion (as held by Jaccard) or attributable to random sampling (as held by Palmgren).

Samuel Bendahan

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1980-.. (age 44)
Occupations: economistpolitician
Biography: Samuel Bendahan is a Swiss Socialist Party politician and member of the National Council elected from Canton of Vaud in 2017. He previously served in Vaudois Grand Council.

Helena Araújo

Born in: Colombia
Years: 1934-2015 (aged 81)
Occupations: writeruniversity teacherliterary criticessayisthispanist
Biography: Helena Araújo Ortiz was a writer and an international professor of Latin American literature and women's studies. Her works of literary criticism have appeared in various Latin American and European literary journals.

René Fülöp-Miller

Born in: Romania
Years: 1891-1963 (aged 72)
Occupations: cultural historianwriteruniversity teachersociologist
Biography: René Fülöp-Miller, born Philip René Maria Müller was an Austrian cultural historian and writer. He was born to an Alsatian immigrant and a Serbian mother in Karánsebes, Austria-Hungary (now Caransebeş, Romania) and died in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Edouard Rod

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1857-1910 (aged 53)
Occupations: journalistwriterliterary critic
Biography: Édouard Rod was a French-Swiss novelist.

Nikol Aghbalian

Born in: Georgia
Years: 1875-1947 (aged 72)
Occupations: politicianteacherpublic figureliterary scholarliterary
Biography: Nikol Poghosi Aghbalian was an Armenian public figure and historian of literature, the editor of Horizon paper.

Philipp Humm

Born in: Germany
Years: 1959-.. (age 65)
Occupations: film directorwriterfilm producerbusinessperson
Biography: Philipp Rudolf Humm is an artist, film director and a former European business executive.

Pierre Zimmermann

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1955-.. (age 69)
Occupations: bridge player
Biography: Pierre Zimmermann is a Swiss-born real estate developer and champion bridge player formerly resident in Monaco.

Angela D. Friederici

Born in: Germany
Years: 1952-.. (age 72)
Occupations: psychologistprofessorneuroscientist
Biography: Angela Friederici is a director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, and is an internationally recognized expert in neuropsychology and linguistics. She is the author of over 400 academic articles and book chapters, and has edited 15 books on linguistics, neuroscience, language and psychology.

Philippe Rahmy

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1965-2017 (aged 52)
Occupations: archaeologistpoet
Biography: Philippe Rahmy was a Swiss poet and writer.

Bessora

Born in: Belgium
Years: 1968-.. (age 56)
Occupations: writer
Biography: Bessora is a novelist and short story writer. After a career in international finance in Geneva, she studied anthropology and wrote her first novel. Since 1999 Bessora has published a book a year on average, mainly through the publishing group Gallimard. Her books have been translated into several languages.

André Haefliger

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1929-2023 (aged 94)
Enrolled in the University of Lausanne: Studied in 1948-1952
Occupations: university teachermathematician
Biography: André Haefliger was a Swiss mathematician who worked primarily on topology.

Jules Jacot-Guillarmod

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1868-1925 (aged 57)
Occupations: explorerwriterphysicianphotographer
Biography: Jules Jacot-Guillarmod was a Swiss physician, mountaineer and photographer. He was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1868 and died in the Gulf of Aden in 1925. As a mountaineer he was known for his ascents in the Swiss Alps but particularly for his participation in two Himalaya expeditions.

Aimé Ngoy Mukena

Born in: DR Congo
Years: Died in 2022
Occupations: university teacherpoliticianphilosopher
Biography: Aimé Ngoy Mukena was a political figure from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who has served as Minister of Petroleum and Gas since 26 September 2015. He previously served as Minister of Defence and Veterans' Affairs under President Joseph Kabila. He was a founding member of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), one of the most influential political parties in the Congo where he served as its Executive Secretary in charge of interior and decentralization.

Louis Ruchonnet

Born in: Switzerland
Years: 1834-1893 (aged 59)
Occupations: politicianlawyer
Biography: Antoine Louis John Ruchonnet was a 19th-century Swiss attorney and politician. In 1864, he founded the Vaud Credit Union (French: l'Union vaudoise de crédit).