Press Release

Published 20.01.2010 Author: Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches

FSPC President Thomas Wipf to retire at end of 2010

Thomas Wipf, President of the Council of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches FSPC, and four other Council members are to retire when their terms of office finish at the end of 2010. The Assembly of Delegates will elect the new Council in June 2010.

The President of the Council of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches FSPC, Pastor Thomas Wipf, will not be standing for re-election at the end of 2010. He will have served three terms of office totalling 12 years. His term as President of the Swiss Council of Religions SCR will end at the same time. Like the Davos Open Forum, which runs parallel to the World Economic Forum each year, the SCR was founded on Wipf's initiative. Wipf will continue to serve as President of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe CPCE until the next General Assembly in 2012.

Also retiring in late 2010, at the end of the Council term, are Irène Reday (Geneva), Dr. Silvia Pfeiffer (Schaffhausen), Helen Gucker-Vontobel (Zurich) and Pastor Urs Zimmermann (Aargau). Dr. Karl Kohli (Thurgau) had already retired at the end of 2009. FSPC Director Theo Schaad will also retire at the end of this year.

The Assembly of Delegates, meeting in Herisau from 13 to 15 June 2010, will elect the seven-member Council for the 2011–2014 term. A full-time President and six part-time members of the Council have to be elected. The 2005 Assembly had already resolved to streamline the Council from nine to seven members. Current members of the Council standing for re-election are Pastor Kristin Rossier Buri (Vaud), Pastor Lucien Boder (Berne-Jura-Solothurn) and Dr. Peter Schmid (Basel-Landschaft).

The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (FSPC) is the umbrella organization of 26 protestant churches of Switzerland. It represents Swiss Protestantism at national and international levels and offers theological and ethical input to social, political and economic debate.

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