Luzius Wasescha

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Luzius Wasescha (born June 13, 1946 in Bern , † October 12, 2016 in Bern; legal resident in Savognin ) was a Swiss trade diplomat. Wasescha has represented Swiss economic interests in countless negotiations, most recently as ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) . He was present at the launch of the Uruguay Round and played a key role in the drafting of the Switzerland-Japan free trade agreement and Russia's accession to the WTO .

Life

After attending school in Bern, Montreux and Lausanne , Wasescha studied law at the University of Lausanne , where he received his doctorate in 1980 with a thesis on the European Social Charter . In his first professional years he was Central Secretary of the European Union Switzerland in Bern and editor of the magazine Europa . From 1973 on Wasescha was a member of the advisory commission of the Federal Council on Switzerland's relationship with the UN for three years . In 1975 he was the initiator of the Hertenstein successor program “Hertensteiner Programm 1975”, then until 1977 the Council of Europe correspondent for Switzerland.

From 1977, Wasescha strengthened his internal perspective by first becoming their legal advisor at an international trust company in Bellinzona and then at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA).

After his post as embassy secretary in the Swiss Economic Service in 1982, he moved to the embassy councilor to Switzerland in 1984, where he was a delegate to the European Free Trade Association EFTA and to the General Customs and Trade Agreement GATT as well as its deputy head of the delegation. From 1998 to 2001 he was head of the Swiss delegation in the trade committee of the OECD and from 2001 to 2004 elected chairman of its trade committee. In 2000 Wasescha was appointed delegate of the Federal Council for trade agreements and a member of the management team of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) . From 2007 until his retirement in 2012 he was the Swiss ambassador to the WTO and EFTA in Geneva .

Wasescha was a long-time member of the Swiss Social Democratic Party . During his time as Central Secretary of the European Union of Switzerland (1971–1977) he campaigned heavily for the Swiss free trade agreement of 1972 with the European Economic Community .

For 12 years he was president of the largest nature park in Switzerland, Parc Ela in the canton of Graubünden . Wasescha was also the reason why the second of a total of eight rounds of negotiations for the free trade agreement between Switzerland and Japan from 9th to 13th July 2007 in the village school house of Savognin (GR) took place.

Wasescha spoke all four national languages ​​like his mother tongue. On October 12, 2016 , he had a fatal accident in the Bern train station , after having previously attended an event on "Swiss free trade policy" in Zurich.

Receptions

Although he was recognized as a generalist on all world stages, he specialized in the regions of Europe, Russia and Asia.

Wasescha was highly praised among colleagues. According to the NZZ, he was "highly valued by trade diplomats because of his expertise and his strong sense of humor". Patrick Ziltener (* 1967), specialist in foreign trade policy and professor at the University of Zurich , said of him: “He has a lot of strategic intelligence and empathy. There are few people who have both. "

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Stefan Bühler: The Prince retires In: NZZ am Sonntag . August 12, 2012, No. 33, p. 13
  2. ^ A b Jean-Pierre Kapp: A tree with roots [1] In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . 17th October 2016
  3. ^ "Dissertation Luzius Wasescha" website of the Librairie Droz. Retrieved January 25, 2017
  4. ↑ Curriculum Vitae Waseschas ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at the "International Federation of Agricultural Journalists" (PDF; 100 kB)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ifaj2005.ch
  5. ↑ Appointment of a new head of Switzerland's permanent mission to the WTO and EFTA in Geneva. In: Federal Council media release. September 29, 2006
  6. ^ A b c Claudia Brunner: A vicious diplomat fell silent. In: Tages-Anzeiger . October 18, 2016, p. 4
  7. ↑ March 31, 2016 ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.parc-ela.ch
  8. ↑ October 18, 2016 ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.parc-ela.ch
  9. ↑ Markus Häfliger: The diplomats negotiate in the village school house [2] In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . July 8, 2007
  10. ↑ Bereavement Wasescha Luzius on obituary portal.ch
  11. ↑ Wednesday, October 12, 2016: Swiss Free Trade Policy - Experience and Potential in the Asian Economic Area on SwissDiplomats.ch
personal data
SURNAME Wasescha, Lucius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss trade diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH June 13, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH October 12, 2016
Place of death Bern