List of ambassadors of Switzerland to France

Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in France
Entrance gate of the Hôtel de Besenval, the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation and the residence of the Swiss Ambassador to France
General information
Address	142 Rue de Grenelle
Town or city	Paris
Country	France

The Ambassador of Switzerland to France is the representative of the government of Switzerland in France and thus responsible for maintaining diplomatic relations between Switzerland and France.

First permanent Swiss diplomatic representation

The worldwide first ever permanent Swiss diplomatic representation was opened in Paris in April 1798, at the time of the Helvetic Republic. On 28 April 1798, the Helvetic Directorate officially appointed the first envoy, Peter Josef Zeltner. However, Zeltner's posting to Paris took place already one day earlier, on 27 April. Today, the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation as well as the residence of the Swiss Ambassador are housed in the Hôtel de Besenval in Paris.

The early years: The era of the gentlemen diplomats

The beginnings of Swiss professional diplomacy were modest and accompanied by a certain skepticism. The focus of criticism was the associated costs. Anyone interested in becoming a diplomat in the early years was advised that, in addition to a degree in law, knowledge of modern history, language skills in the Swiss national languages and English – they should have above all something at their disposal: Their own assets. The Swiss Confederation expressly pointed out that a diplomat's salary – even if he is head of mission – will not be enough to cover his living costs. Accordingly, the first Swiss diplomats came from wealthy, mostly industrial and patrician families. This only changed with the adjustment of salaries and the introduction of an admissions competition, the so-called concours diplomatique, which was developed in 1955, under the leadership of Walter Stucki, and finally introduced in 1956.

"It is true that until relatively recently Swiss diplomacy was primarily the preserve of members of noble and wealthy families."

— Ambassador Walter Stucki,

The last years of the gentlemen diplomats in post-war Paris

It is interesting that in the period after the end of World War II until the 1980s, Switzerland was mostly represented in Paris by people who had not had experience as ambassadors, but who otherwise enjoyed a high reputation. As a rule, they stayed in their posts for a long time, some of them up to 10 years. And, surprisingly, the majority of them did not come from the Romandy.

First French embassy in Switzerland

In the aftermath of the Battle of Marignano, the Paix Perpétuelle (Perpetual Peace) of 1516 and the mercenary alliance of 1521, France had already opened an embassy in 1522 on Swiss territory, in the city of Solothurn. Hence still today, the city of Solothurn is still called the City of Ambassadors.

Monsieur l'Ambassadeur

Due to history, diplomatic relations between Switzerland and France have some peculiarities. Until 1953, only the French head of mission was allowed to hold the title of ambassador in Switzerland. It was only from February 1953, that all foreign heads of mission in Switzerland were allowed to hold the title.

Ambassadors of Switzerland to France

"The head of mission in Paris realizes very early that, in a capital of the Occident which adds to the prestige of an unparalleled past, the reality of an intense political and international life, it is not enough to be a diplomat. Simple professional virtuosity, even at its peak, is not everything, far from it. Access to the capital's circles, and therefore not only to official circles, puts the representative of a country small or large, weak or powerful, distant or close, in contact with an intellectual and social elite as demanding for themselves as for the foreigner."

— Ambassador Agostino Soldati,

From 1798 until 1957 as the Swiss Envoy, called Minister

• 1798–1800: Peter Josef Zeltner (1765-1830)
• 1800–1800: Gottlieb Abraham von Jenner (1765–1834)
• 1800–1803: Philipp Albert Stapfer (1766–1840)
• 1803–1814: Antoine Constantin de Maillardoz, Marquis de Maillardoz (1765–1832)
• 1814–1847: Georg von Tschann (1777–1847)
• 1848–1857: Josef Hyazint Barmann (1800–1885)
• 1857–1883: Johann Konrad Kern (1808–1888)
• 1883–1917: Charles Édouard Lardy (1847–1923)

Charles Édouard Lardy was one of the first professional Swiss diplomats (career diplomat)

• 1917–1938: Alphonse Dunant (1869–1942)
• 1938–1944 (from 1940 until 1944 in Vichy): Walter Stucki (1888–1963)

Under Walter Stucki's leadership, the new examination procedure for admission to the diplomatic service was developed in 1955. This process is also known as the democratization process of the diplomatic service. It was the beginning of the end of the era of the gentlemen diplomats

• 1945–1949: Carl J. Burckhardt (1891–1974)
• 1949–1956: Peter Anton von Salis (1898–1982)

From 1957 as the Swiss Ambassador – or the upgrade from a legation to an embassy

• 1956–1961: Pierre Micheli (1905–1989)

At the beginning, Pierre Micheli had the rank of minister. In March 1957 he became ambassador, when the Swiss Legation was upgraded to an embassy

• 1961–1966: Agostino Soldati (1910–1966)

Agostino Soldati, who was extremely popular and well-connected in Parisian society, died in office on 11 December 1966. On the day of his death, General Charles de Gaulle, Président de la République Française, sent a telegram of condolence to Federal President Hans Schaffner, which he signed with "Le Général de Gaulle." Charles de Gaulle also sent a personal letter of condolence, dated 11 December 1966, to the widow, Marguerite Soldati-André-Thome, Comtesse André de Contades (1907–2001), called Daisy, in which he called Soldati "le grand Ambassadeur et l'ami de la France." This letter he signed with "Charles de Gaulle"

• 1967–1977: Pierre Dupont (1912–1993)
• 1977–1987: François de Ziegler (1922–2006)
• 1987–1993: Carlo Jagmetti (* 1932)
• 1993–1997: Edouard Brunner (1932–2007)
• 1997–2002: Benedict de Tscharner (1937–2019)
• 2002–2007: François Nordmann (* 1942)
• 2007–2011: Ulrich Lehner (* 1954)
• 2011–2014: Jean-Jacques de Dardel (* 1954)
• 2014–2018: Bernardino Regazzoni (* 1957)
• 2018–2020: Livia Leu (* 1961)
• 2020–today: Roberto Balzaretti (* 1965)

Seats of the Swiss diplomatic representation in Paris since the mid-19th century

One of the earliest photos of the Hôtel de Besenval: A photographic glass slide made in the second half of the 19th century (after 1866), showing the garden façade of the residence. Glass slides were projected with a magic lantern.

• 1857–1859: 14 Avenue des Champs-Elysées
• 1860–1864: 3 Rue d'Aumale
• 1865–1883: 3 Rue Blanche
• 1892–1894: 4 Rue Cambon
• 1895–1918: 15bis Rue de Marignan
• 1919–1938: 51 Avenue Hoche
• since 1938: 142 Rue de Grenelle

La maison française la plus suisse qui ait jamais été

In order to fulfill his main task of maintaining diplomatic relations, an ambassador depends on having the appropriate framework conditions. This includes, above all, an appropriate embassy residence.

The Swiss Confederation was lucky and in 1938 was able to buy what is probably La maison française la plus suisse qui ait jamais été (the most Swiss French house ever): The Hôtel de Besenval on the Rue de Grenelle, a residence full of Franco-Swiss past, embodied by Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, a Swiss military officer in French service, whom Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve once called "Le Suisse le plus français qui ait jamais été" (the most French Swiss ever).

"At the Hôtel de Besenval you were sure to find not only the elite of Parisian society, but above all a wonderfully balanced representation of the most diverse circles of society from politics, literature and art."

— Sénateur Édouard Bonnefous,

Further reading

in alphabetical order

• Claude Altermatt: Les débuts de la diplomatie professionnelle en Suisse (1848–1914), Éditions Universitaires Fribourg Suisse, Fribourg, 1990
• Claude Altermatt: Zwei Jahrhunderte Schweizer Aussenvertretungen (1798–1998), Jubiläumsbroschüre 200-Jahre-Eröffnung der ersten Schweizer Gesandtschaft in Paris 1798, Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (EDA), Vorwort Bundesrat Flavio Cotti, 1998
• Carl J. Burckhardt (Préface): In memoriam Agostino Soldati (1910–1966) – Ambassadeur de Suisse, Éditeur: E. Cherix et Filanosa, Nyon, 1968
• Daniel Haener: Ambassadeurs à Paris, Zeitschrift « Le messager suisse: Revue des communautés suisses de langue française », 1998, Heft 110
• Florian Keller: Botschafterporträts – Schweizer Botschafter in den « Zentren der Macht » zwischen 1945 und 1975, Chronos Verlag, Zürich, 2018
• Jacques Rial: Le Bicorne et la Plume – Les publications de diplomates suisses de 1848 à nos jours, Préface de Bénédict de Tscharner, DiploFoundation & Institut de hautes études et du développement, Genève, 2008
• Bénédict de Tscharner: Profession ambassadeur – diplomate suisse en France, Éditions Cabédita, Yens-sur-Morges, 2002
• Paul Widmer: Diplomatie – Ein Handbuch, Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich, 2014

External links

• Swiss diplomacy through the ages
• Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in France