Adolf Ogi

formerly Federal Councillor

Adolf Ogi was born in Kandersteg in 1942. After the Business School, he attended the Swiss Mercantile School in London. He first worked in a textile factory in Liverpool and afterwards in the tourist office of Meiringen.

In the year 1964, he started at the Swiss Ski Federation where he became director in 1975. In 1981 he was appointed director general of Intersport. Three years later, he was elected member of the national council.

In 1987, he was elected Federal Councillor. First, he was in charge of the Federal Department for Transport and Energy and then he became the head of the Department for Military Affairs until he stepped down in 2000. 

From 2001 to 2007, he was UN Special Ambassador for Sports and Peace. In 2005, he launched the UN Year of Sports.

In 2005, he was awarded the honorary doctorate by the University of Bern. Currently, he is active in many areas, for example, as Honorary President of the Swiss Olympic Association and Honorary Board Member of Green Cross International.