Esther Friedli

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Esther Friedli
Esther Friedli (2019)
Member of the Council of States (Switzerland)
Assumed office
30 May 2023
Preceded byPaul Rechsteiner
ConstituencyCanton of St. Gallen
Member of the National Council (Switzerland)
In office
2 December 2019 – 29 May 2023
Personal details
Born
Esther Barbara Friedli

(1977-06-04) 4 June 1977 (age 46)
Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Political partySwiss People's Party
Other political
affiliations		Christian Democratic People's Party (1995-2016)
Domestic partnerToni Brunner (since 1997)
Residence(s)Ebnat-Kappel, Switzerland
Alma materUniversity of Bern
Aarhus University
OccupationPolitician, political strategist, consultant
Websiteesther-friedli.ch (in German)

Esther Barbara Friedli[1] (/frɪdlɪ/ born 4 June 1977) is a Swiss politician who currently serves on the Council of States (Switzerland) on 30 April 2023 and assumed office on 30 May 2023.[2][3] She previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) for the Swiss People's Party since 2019.[4][5] She is the domestic partner of Toni Brunner, former president of the Swiss People's Party and also a member of the National Council.[6] Between 2008 and 2014, Friedli served as the secretary general of the Department of Education of the Canton of St. Gallen.

Early life and education[edit]

Friedli was born 4 June 1977 in Bern, Switzerland. She grew-up in nearby Worb,[7] where she attended public schools. Between 1997 and 2003 she studied Political Science at the University of Bern. She took minors in Constitutional Law, National Economics and Media Studies. Friedli also completed a student exchange at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark in 2001. While growing up she had been an active member of the Christian Democratic People's Party and engaged in their youth commission.[8]

Career[edit]

She completed a Federal Palace of Switzerland internship at the executive office of Federal councilor Ruth Metzler in the early 2000s. After completing her studies in Political Science, she initially worked in Public Relations, for Mediapolis and then as a consultant for Farner Consulting AG, one of Switzerland's leading consulting companies. Between 2008 and 2014 she served six years as the secretary general of the Department of Education in St. Gallen. Since 2015 she works as an independent consultant for her firm polestica gmbh which is primarily active in the field of political consulting and communication. Toni Brunner is a partner in this firm. They also own and operate Landgasthaus Sonne a family-style restaurant. With her consulting firm she led several political campaigns, such as for Roger Köppel, publisher of Weltwoche.[9]

Politics[edit]

Friedli campaigned for a seat in the Cantonal Council of St. Gallen in 2016, after becoming a member of the Swiss People's Party, before she was affiliated with the Christian Democratic People's Party.[10][11] In the 2019 Swiss federal election, Friedli was elected into National Council (Switzerland) receiving 35,540 votes.[12] According to her own statements, the campaign to be elected cost her only 5,000 Swiss Francs.[13]

In 2022, Friedli was briefly traded as potential successor to Ueli Maurer, in the Federal Council of Switzerland. Later she did confirm that she didn't want to run for office, and the position was ultimately given to Albert Rösti.[14] On 14 October 2022, she instead announced to run for member of the Council of States (Switzerland).[15] Her campaign will be entirely financed by fellow National Councilor Magdalena Martullo-Blocher.[16]

Personal life[edit]

Since 1997, Friedli is in a relationship with Toni Brunner, they reside in Ebnat-Kappel in St. Gallen.[17][18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Esther Friedli in Ebnat-Kappel - Reports". Moneyhouse. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  2. ^ Neuhaus, Christina. "Esther Friedli: klar in den Ständerat gewählt". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  3. ^ Faki, Sermîn (2023-04-30). "Neue St. Galler Ständerätin heisst Esther Friedli". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  4. ^ "Esther Friedli in Ebnat-Kappel - Reports". Moneyhouse. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  5. ^ "In den Nationalrat gewählt: St.Galler SVP-Politikerin Esther Friedli tritt aus dem Schatten von Lebenspartner Toni Brunner". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). 21 October 2019. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  6. ^ "Toni Brunners Freundin Esther Friedli schaffts in den Nationalrat". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  7. ^ "So eroberte "Toni-Schnügeli" ihr Herz". Blick (in Swiss High German). 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  8. ^ "So eroberte "Toni-Schnügeli" ihr Herz". Blick (in Swiss High German). 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  9. ^ Halbeis, Matthias (2016-03-02). "Seit gestern SVP-Mitglied, heute Regierungsratskandidatin: Die steile Karriere von Toni Brunners "Esthi"". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  10. ^ Gallen, Jörg Krummenacher, St. "Esther Friedli steigt für SVP in den Ring | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Marti, Simon (2016-03-06). "Esther Friedli kandidiert für den Regierungsrat: Die leise Frau im Toggenburg". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  12. ^ Brenner, Patrik Müller, Katharina (22 October 2019). "Die neue St.Galler SVP-Nationalrätin Esther Friedli: "Linksgrüne reden vom Klima, fliegen aber selber gedankenlos in die Ferien"". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Esther Friedli: "Damit hätte ich im Leben nie gerechnet!"". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  14. ^ "Nachfolge von Ueli Maurer - Esther Friedli will nicht in den Bundesrat". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  15. ^ Thomi, Jürg Krebs, André Bissegger und Samuel (14 October 2022). "Esther Friedli (SVP) will Ständerätin werden, nicht Bundesrätin". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Bruggmann, Tobias (2023-03-09). "Martullo-Blocher sponsert Wahlkampf von SVP-Friedli". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  17. ^ "Toni Brunner SVP-Präsident über Bruder Andi und Familie privat". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  18. ^ Schlup, Lina. "Toni Brunner baggerte seine Esther im Bundeshaus an". Nau (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
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