Roland Nef

Roland Beat Nef (born July 1, 1959 in Frauenfeld ; legal resident in Urnäsch ) is a Swiss officer. He was Chief of the Army in 2008 .

Career

Nef grew in Frauenfeld, graduated from the University of Zurich Law and graduated with a licentiate from. As a fraternity student he was given the name Taschte because he plays the piano and organ. For a while he was the organist of the Guthirt Church in Zurich. In 1988 he joined the artillery instructor corps as a career officer . In 1999 he attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course in Fort Sill , USA . As of January 1, 2002, Nef was appointed commander of Panzer Brigade 4, while at the same time being promoted to brigadier . In Army XXI , he took command of the 11th Panzer Brigade on January 1, 2004 . Since February 2007 he has been in command of the tank / artillery training association in Thun.

He was elected Chief of the Army (CdA) by the Federal Council in early June 2007. Promoted from brigadier to corps commander , Nef succeeded Christophe Keckeis on January 1, 2008 . He resigned from this office six months later after the media published details of his election in July 2008 and of an investigation pending against him at the time.

As chief of the army, Roland Nef was responsible for the development and leadership of the army. In the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) he was Head of Defense. He led the two branches of the army and air force , the higher cadre training of the army (HKA), the logistics base (LBA), the command support base (FUB), the planning staff of the army (PST A) and the command staff of the army (FST A).

Private misconduct affair

In mid-July 2008 it became public that Roland Nef had been chasing after his ex-partner for months, which is why she reported him. The (entire) Federal Council - with the exception of the head of the Defense Department - knew nothing of the investigation that was ongoing at the time when Nef was appointed to the CdA. The former partner was willing to withdraw the lawsuit , whereupon the case was dropped before the army chief took office. This was a contractually stipulated condition of employment. As reparation for the injustice caused, Nef paid her compensation in an unknown amount under the supervision of the Zurich public prosecutor's office. Nef filed a lawsuit against various media on the grounds: "Some media spread truths, half-truths and falsehoods, the mix and dissemination of which, regardless of the truth content, is personal harm and amounts to a character assassination campaign ".

Head of Department Bundesrat Samuel Schmid confirmed that the newly elected CdA before his promotion by the highest federal officials prescribed "extended safety inspection was durchgeleuchtet among other things, his family circumstances with survey". The security review body, which is independent of the Federal Council, had file access to the above procedure before and after its final termination and questioned Nef in a hearing on this matter before the positive result of the review was communicated to the Federal Council - in accordance with the regulations, without details about privacy . The Federal Council made the CdA election in the knowledge that Nef, who had already undergone an extended security check as an army cadre in 2005 , will only complete the repetition of the personal security check required to take office after his election as head of the army. After he had been given full confidence by Federal Councilor Schmid two days earlier, Nef was given leave of absence by Schmid on July 21, 2008 until August 20, in order to dispel the allegations against him.

On July 25, Nef proposed to the Federal Council to terminate the employment relationship by mutual agreement. Nef did not take advantage of the opportunity to dispel the allegations made against him; he admitted to making mistakes. On August 20, 2008, the Federal Council finally confirmed Nefs resignation and appointed his deputy, divisional officer André Blattmann , as the new CdA on an interim basis.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Federal Council elects Roland Nef as the new Chief of the Army ( Memento of the original from August 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , DDPS media release of June 8, 2007 
2. ^ Army chief Nef is on leave , 20 minutes , July 21, 2008;
3. ↑ Statement by Hans Altherr, SIK President Council of States ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , President of the Security Commission of the Council of States , Schweizer Fernsehen News-Clip from July 21, 2008 
4. ↑ The allegations against Roland Nef ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ^ Army chief Roland Nef gives up , NZZ Online, July 25, 2008
6. ↑ Couchepin regards the Nef affair as an “accident” , NZZ Online, August 20, 2008