Biography
| 1932 | Born in Rome, as son of Swiss parents from Lugano (Ticino/Switzerland)
Schools in Rome and Lugano, High School diploma in literature and humanities
Studies at the Universities of Zurich, Paris and Rome |
| 1957 | Graduated with a doctorate in law from the University of Zurich (magna cum laude)
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| 1957-59 | Banking in Zurich |
| 1960-68 | Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs (diplomatic posts at The Hague, Bonn, Rome) |
| 1969-73 | Deputy Head of the Swiss Delegation to EFTA, GATT, UNCTAD and ECE/UN in Geneva |
| 1973-75 | Deputy Secretary General of EFTA in Geneva |
| 1976-83 | Federal Office for External Economic Affairs in Berne (Minister plenipotentiary, Ambassador, Delegate of the Swiss Government for Trade Agreements) |
| 1984-86 | State Secretary for External Economic Affairs in Berne |
| 1987-99 | President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva |
| 2000 | Honorary Member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) |
| 2000 | Member of the Panel on UN Peace Operations |
| 2000-01 | Member of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) |
| 2000-07 | Chairman of the Karl Popper Foundation, Zug |
| 2000-07 | Member of the Board of the Open Society Institute, Budapest (Hungary) |
| 2000-07 | President, then member, of the Council of the Swiss Foundation Caux - Initiatives of Change |
| 2000-08 | President of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) |
| 2000-09 | Member of the Board of the Accentus Foundation, Zurich |
| 2004-05 | President of the Graduate Institute for International Studies, Geneva |
| 2006-09 | Chairman of the Board of the International Cancer Foundation, Geneva |
| 2006 | Vice Chairman of the Foundation for the Future, Amman (Jordan) |
| 2007 | Honorary Chair of the International Association Initiatives of Change, Caux (Switzerland) |
| 2008 | Honorary Chair of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) |
Honorary Doctorates
University of Fribourg (Switzerland), 1985; University of Minho, Braga (Portugal), 1990; University of Bologna (Italy), 1991; University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis (France), 1992; Seoul National University (Republic of Korea), 1992; University of Geneva (Switzerland), 1997; Webster University of Saint Louis (USA), 1998; Università dell’Insubria, Como (Italy) 2008.
Presidential Awards
University of Tel Aviv (Israel); Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovakia); Karl's University, Prague (Czech Republic); Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award, Tufts University, Boston (USA), 2003; University for Peace, San José (Costarica), 2009.
| 1996 | Prize of the International Human Rights Society, Berne |
| 2001 | North - South Prize of the Council of Europe |
| 2003 | Prize of the Foreign Press Association in Switzerland for the most popular Swiss personality |
| 2008 | Prize of the Cardinal Van Thuàn Foundation of the Pontifical Council Justitia et Pace, Vatican
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| 2009 | Henry Dunant Medal of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, Nairobi |
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| 1977-78 | President of the UN Economic Commission for Europe |
| 1982-84 | Co-Chairman of the Commissione consultiva culturale Italo-Svizzera |
State Decorations of Belgium, France, Holy See, Italy, Iceland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Sweden
Red Cross and Red Crescent Awards from numerous National Societies
Married, four daughters, two sons, 16 grandchildren.
