Gerhard Pfister

Swiss politician

Gerhard Pfister
Official portrait, 2019

Member of the National Council (Switzerland)
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 December 2003
Constituency	Canton of Zug
President of The Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 April 2016
Preceded by	Christophe Darbellay

Personal details
Born	Gerhard Michael Pfister (1962-10-01)1 October 1962 Zug, Switzerland
Political party	The Centre
Other political affiliations	Christian Democratic People's Party (until 2020)
Spouse	Franziska Bachmann (m. 1994)
Education	Disentis Abbey School
Alma mater	University of Fribourg
Website	Official website (in German)

Gerhard Michael Pfister (born 1 October 1962) is a Swiss educator and politician who currently serves as a member of the National Council for The Centre (previously Christian Democratic People's Party) since 2003.^[1] In 2016, he succeeded Christophe Darbellay as president of The Centre. Pfister is currently also co-president of the Swiss Private School Association and founder and controlling shareholder of the day school Elementa Zug which is deemed for highly gifted children.^[2]

Early life and education

Pfister was born 1 October 1962 in Zug, Switzerland, to Dietmar Pfister (1928–1994) and Marliese Pfister (née André; 1936–1970).^[3] He lost his mother when he was only eight years old. His parents operated the private boarding school Institute Dr. Pfister in Oberägeri, which was operative from 1920 to 2012.^[4]^[5] He studied there before moving on to Disentis Abbey school. He studied philosophy and literature at the University of Fribourg.

Career

He taught at the school and took over operations after the death of his father in 1994. The school closed in 2012.^[6] He currently is the co-president of the Swiss Private School Association.^[7]

Politics

In 1998, he was elected to the Cantonal Council of Zug where he served through 2003. He then became the party president in Zug in 1999, a position he held in until 2008. He won a seat in the National Council in 2003.^[6] He was re-elected in 2007 and 2011.

Personal life

Since 1994, Pfister is married to Franziska (née Bachmann), who is also a teacher and educator.^[8]

References

^ "Ratsmitglied ansehen". www.parlament.ch. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^ "Geschichte". Tagesschule Elementa Zug (in German). 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^ "Gerhard Pfister - Munzinger Biographie". www.munzinger.de. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^ Rogenmoser, Carmen (2017-02-10). "OBERÄGERI: Im Geisterhaus tut sich etwas". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^ "Privatschulen: Die Startrampe für Weltbürger". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^ ^a ^b "Gerhard Pfister ist neuer CVP-Präsident" (in German). Tages Anzeiger. 2016-04-23.
^ Morosoli, Marco (2020-11-20). "Gerhard Pfister im Interview über Privatschulen". Zuger Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^ Zeitung, Jungfrau. "Jungfrau Zeitung - Mitte-Präsident Gerhard Pfister: «Wie es auch war, das Leben, es ist gut»". www.jungfrauzeitung.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-05.