Thomas Aeschi
Thomas Aeschi (/ɛʃɪ/esh-y born 13 January 1979) is a Swiss businessman, politician and former banker. He currently serves as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for the Swiss People's Party since 2011.[1][2] He previously served on the Cantonal Council of Zug from 2010 to 2012.[3]
Thomas Aeschi | |
---|---|
Member of the National Council (Switzerland) | |
Assumed office 5 December 2011 | |
Constituency | Canton of Zug |
Member of the Cantonal Council of Zug | |
In office 16 December 2010 – 28 August 2012 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Aeschi 13 January 1979 Baar, Zug, Switzerland |
Political party | Swiss People's Party |
Domestic partner | Valeria Geissbühler (engaged since 2022) |
Education | Lisle Senior High School |
Alma mater | University of St. Gallen (Licentiate) Harvard Kennedy School (MPA) |
Occupation | Banker, consultant, politician |
Signature | |
Website | aeschi |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Switzerland |
Branch/service | Swiss Armed Forces |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Early life and education
Aeschi was primarily raised in Allenwinden, a municipality within Baar, Switzerland. In 1996, he completed an international exchange year at Lisle Senior High School[4] in Lisle, Illinois a suburb of Chicago. He completed his education by earning a Type B Matura in 1998 and went to college at University of St. Gallen where he completed an undergraduate degree in Economics (class of 2002). Aeschi also obtained a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School.[5]
Career
In 2004, he started his banking career in M&A at Credit Suisse in Zurich, where he stayed in various positions until 2006. He currently is Managing Partner of his independent consulting firm Aeschi & Company, LLC in Baar. He is currently on various boards such as Helvetische Bank in Zurich founded by Thomas Matter.[6]
Political career
His parliamentary career began in 2010 when he was elected to the Cantonal Council for a term of two years (2010-2012).[7] He was elected to the National Council in 2011. In November 2015, The SVP parliamentary Group in the federal council presented Aeschi as its official candidate for the 2015 federal council election and in 2017 he became president of the SVP Parliamentary Group.[8] From 2015 to 2021 he served as president of SVP Kanton Zug.[9] In 2022, he made a racist comment against Nigerians calling them rapists.[10] Apology was tendered on his behalf by a member of his parliamentary group.[11]
Personal life
Since May 2022, Aeschi got engaged in Taormina, Italy to Valeria Geissbühler (*1991) to whom he got introduced at an event of the Swiss People's Party in 2019. She works as laboratory technician at the University of Zürich and currently also serves on the municipal council of Schübelbach.[12][13] They will become parents in early 2024.[14]
References
- "Thomas Aeschi". SVP Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- zentralplus, Redaktion (2022-06-22). "Thomas Aeschi löst erneut einen Shitstorm auf Twitter aus". zentralplus (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- "Ratsmitglieder — Kantonsrat". zg-compwork.clex.ch. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
- "Lisle High School alumni, pre-2000, Thomas Aeschi". lislehighschool.org. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
- "Luncheon". hcswitzerland.clubs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- watson.ch, Corsin Manser (2 July 2022). "SRF-«Arena»: SVP-Aeschi kritisiert Sanktionen gegen Russland". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- "BUNDESRAT: Thomas Aeschi, wer sind Sie?". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). 21 November 2015. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- "Aeschi hat beste Chancen – aber Bundesrat ist er noch nicht". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 20 November 2015. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- "Das schreiben die Sonntagszeitungen | Schweiz | Luzerner Zeitung". 2016-10-11. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- Rosch, Benjamin (17 March 2022). "Aeschis rassistischer Ausfall im Nationalrat sorgt für Empörung". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- "SVP Kanton Zug - Thomas Aeschi" (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- "Valeria Geissbühler". www.schuebelbach.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- "SVP-Fraktionschef Thomas Aeschi wird Vater". 20 Minuten (in German). 2023-09-10. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- Rafi, Reza (2023-09-10). "Thomas Aeschi wird Papa". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-09-10.