A portrait of Martin Pfister From Health Director to Federal Councillor
Martin Pfister entered the race for Federal Councillor Viola Amherd's seat as an outsider and has now surprisingly won the election. Who is the new man in the Federal Palace? A portrait.
12.03.2025, 09:14
12.03.2025, 14:29
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Martin Pfister was elected as the new Federal Councillor with 134 out of 245 valid votes and succeeds Viola Amherd.
- His election is considered a surprise, as he was a late candidate but prevailed in the hearings, particularly among the center-left.
- Pfister could take over the Department of Defense and brings with him both executive experience and military knowledge as a colonel.
Martin Pfister is the new Federal Councillor of the Center Party and successor to Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, who will step down at the end of March. The United Federal Assembly elected him to the federal government in the second round of voting with 134 out of 245 votes. Ritter received 110 votes.
Pfister, who was previously virtually unknown in Bern, had only announced his candidacy for Viola Amherd's seat at the very last minute following numerous rejections. His election is therefore rather surprising.
Pfister is 61 years old and has been Director of Health in Zug since 2016. He studied German and history, was a teacher and worked for associations before joining the government. In addition to his executive experience, his military knowledge probably played a role in his election: He held the rank of colonel in the army.
"I keep calm in difficult situations"
In an interview with SRF, he says: "I keep calm in difficult situations and enjoy the situation." This composure has taken the 61-year-old Zug centrist politician a long way - now all the way to the Federal Council.
But Pfister doesn't just recharge his batteries in politics. His retreat is Lake Zug, where he finds peace and energy. He doesn't talk much about his private life, but he makes one thing clear: "I have a wonderful, large family. That's very important to me. A place of trust where I can recharge my batteries and enjoy life."
Pfister is married, has four grown-up children and four grandchildren. He studied German and history, was a teacher and worked for associations. He lists hiking, jogging, culture and reading as his hobbies on his website.
The latter seems to be particularly important to him. Regarding the workload of federal councillors, he said it was important to make time for other things. "Even a Federal Councillor has to be able to read a book," said Pfister, who describes "Water Music" by T. C. Boyle as his favorite book.
No parliamentary mandate
It has been a long time since a candidate without a parliamentary mandate last entered the national government. Before Pfister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf last managed this in 2008. Pfister lacks a network in federal politics. He has obviously managed to win over a majority of members of parliament in a short space of time.
Pfister has been in charge of the Canton of Zug as Director of Health since 2016. He achieved the best result in the 2022 cantonal elections - a political exclamation mark. But it wasn't just in Zug that he made a name for himself: During the coronavirus pandemic, he took to the national stage alongside Federal Councillor Alain Berset. As President of the Central Switzerland Conference of Health Directors, he was a key figure in crisis management.
Former member of the Council of States Bieri brought him into the party
Few politicians have as few critics as Martin Pfister. "He can do it," says former Member of the Council of States Peter Bieri, who was a politician for Zug in the small chamber from 1995 to 2015. He got to know Pfister as an agriculture teacher when he was teaching pupils about the Battle of Gubel. Bieri then asked Pfister whether he would be interested in joining the party.
Pfister was soon a party member, led the party as president and became a cantonal councillor in 2006. He was leader of the parliamentary group in 2010. Six years later, he replaced Peter Hegglin in the Zug cantonal government as a member of the Council of States and took over the Department of Health. He still holds this position today. In 2018 and 2022, Pfister achieved the best result of the five councillors in the government elections.
Pfister's financial policy is criticized. "Pfister has always supported Zug's low tax policy, which has squeezed out the middle class," says Franzini. In addition, the Federal Council candidate is "not a visionary" and is "more on the right fringe of Zug's center". Barbara Gysel complains that Pfister could "be more courageous" and "more pointed".
Canton pays inpatient hospital costs
Pfister considers his greatest political success to be the balancing act in terms of healthcare policy that the canton of Zug has achieved. "We have very good healthcare with comparatively low health insurance premiums," he says on request. The Federal Council candidate has so far been spared any major defeats. "Of course there are deals that I don't get through in the cantonal council. But these don't find their way into the public domain."
As Director of Health, Martin Pfister heads one of the wealthiest cantons in Switzerland. With the canton's coffers full, the Zug government can think about how to spend the money. It has decided to reduce health insurance premiums in order to give something back to the population.
In a first for Switzerland, the canton has decided to reimburse 99% of inpatient hospital costs to the people of Zug in 2026 and 2027. "It is a very easy measure to implement in order to significantly reduce health insurance premiums," Pfister told SRF.
His military knowledge
In recent days, Pfister has often mentioned his military knowledge. Certainly not a disadvantage if a new appointment is made to the Department of Defense. Pfister held the rank of colonel in the army. He led a rescue battalion and commanded the army's disaster relief operations in the cantons of Zug, Uri, Schwyz, Graubünden and Ticino between 2004 and 2012.
At last week's media conference, the centrist politician called for more funding for the army. The corps is under-equipped and there is a need to catch up. He also wants to make use of the cooperation with NATO - without joining the defense alliance.
A second point could help Pfister in the race for the vacant Federal Council seat: his background. Central Switzerland has not had a member of the national government since 2003. The last one was Kaspar Villiger (FDP) from Lucerne. It has been over fifty years since Hans Hürlimann (CVP) was a member of the Federal Council from Zug. That was from 1974 to 1982.
