Walter Buser, the first and only Federal Chancellor from the Social Democratic Party, has died at the age of 93. Buser’s family said on Wednesday that the former chief-of-staff passed away suddenly on August 17. Buser was born in 1926 in canton Basel Country and was elected chancellor on June 11, 1981. The position is a political appointment but has only a technocratic role. During his ten-year term as chancellor he established a leadership structure for crisis situations and reformed the approval process for popular initiatives. He also established regular press conferences and expanded the Federal Chancellery into a staff unit of the executive body. Buser had a long and dedicated career in government administration including as vice-chancellor from 1968 to 1981. During his time as vice-chancellor and chancellor he missed only one out of 1,178 Federal Council meetings. Some 70,000 decisions were made by the Federal Council under his watch. Following his retirement, Buser ...
