Martha Niquille

She was born on the 27 August 1954 and grew up in Muolen.[1] She attended law school at the University of St.Gallen[1] where she obtained her doctorate in 1982 and the lawyers exam in 1984.[2] Between 1979 and 1981 she was an assistant for constitutional and administrative law at the University of St. Gallen.[2] She practiced as a lawyer in St.Gallen between 1984 and 1988.[2]

From 1987 to 1993 she was a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen for law on obligations and also a part-time judge at the Cantonal Court of St. Gallen.[2] From 1993 to 2008 she was a regular judge at the Cantonal Court of St. Gallen, and assumed as its president between 2005 and 2007.[2] For the time her children attended primary school she was granted an exceptional 80% tenure as at the time judges were obliged to a work a 100%.[2]

She is the first female president of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland after ninety seven male presidents had preceded her.[2] She is a member of the political party The Centre, on whose support she could count during the election process.[1] In 2007 she campaigned for the executive council of St.Gallen, but was not seen as a viable candidate by her party The Centre.[1] She lives in St.Gallen and is married to Christoph Niquille, a former executive at the Helvetia insurance and has two children.[1] Her places of origin are Wittenbach, Hägenschwil and Charmey.[5]