Thomas Bürgisser01.01.2025The degree to which Swiss domestic and foreign policy are intertwined has seldom become so apparent as in 1994. That year, the electorate repeatedly opposed the Federal Council’s pursuit of international openness.
Thomas Bürgisser30.04.2024In spring 1967, Stalin’s daughter travelled to Switzerland. In the middle of the Cold War. The story of a diplomatic high-wire act.
Thomas Bürgisser01.01.2024In 1993, the Federal Council launched a charm offensive, fronted by Switzerland’s president Ogi, to pave the way for bilateral negotiations with the EU following the historic outcome of the EEA referendum of 6 December 1992.
Thomas Bürgisser03.10.2023At the end of the Cold War, the concept of neutrality lost something of its relevance. This in turn led, at the beginning of the 1990s, to the breakup of the grouping that had brought together Europe’s four neutral nations: Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Finland.
Thomas Bürgisser19.08.2022For 60 years, Switzerland has been home to the largest Tibetan community in Europe. But it wasn’t until 1991 that the Dalai Lama was received by the Federal Council for the first time.
Thomas Bürgisser08.09.2021For decades, the communist regime in East Germany made great efforts to establish closer relations with Switzerland. Three weeks after a GDR prime minister visited Bern for the first time, the East German state ceased to exist.
Thomas Bürgisser22.11.2020When Václav Havel made a state visit to Switzerland in 1990, it was a minor sensation. Diplomatic documents shed light on the event from a variety of perspectives.
