Thomas Kessler (politician)

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Thomas Kessler (* 1959 in Meyriez FR, Switzerland ) was drug delegate from 1991 to 1998 and integration officer of the canton of Basel-Stadt from 1998 to 2008 . In his position as integration officer, he developed strategies that were later adopted at the national level and that still shape Swiss politics today. From 2009 to 2017 he was the head of the cantonal and urban development department in the presidential department of the canton of Basel-Stadt and was responsible for political planning and central urban development projects. Since 2017 he has been working as a project developer and consultant for executives at home and abroad (urban development, migration, security).

Career

Growing up in Meyriez (FR), Adliswil (ZH) and Weisslingen (ZH), he left his parents' home at the age of 14 and completed an apprenticeship as a farmer in the Vaudois community of Denezy. He then obtained the Swiss Federal Diploma for Farmers in Zurich, trained as a tropical agronomist in Basel and then studied agronomy .

As a young entrepreneur, Kessler ran his own company until 1991 for the development of agricultural projects as well as for advice and troubleshooting in development aid .

Since 1977 he has been researching cannabis from a botanical and cultural-historical perspective and has published on hemp in Switzerland (see below). He took the view early on that a liberal drug policy , coupled with regulatory elements, could defuse social problems. His model for the regulation of cannabis is based on the alcohol legislation and contains elements of the support of mountain farmers.

From 1987 to 1991 he sat for the Green Party in the Zurich Cantonal Council and there in the Justice Administration Commission.

From 1991 to 1998 Kessler was a drug delegate for the Canton of Basel-Stadt.

From 1996 to the end of 2015, Kessler was a member of the Federal Expert Commission on Drug Issues.

From 1998 to 2008, Kessler was the integration officer of the canton of Basel-Stadt, more precisely: Delegate for Migration and Integration and Head of the Integration and Anti-Discrimination Office. He developed the Basel integration model . Its core message is: "Promote and challenge from day one - binding". It basically includes a proactive approach as well as sanctions for foreigners unwilling to integrate, but at the same time welcome, care and educational offers from the day of entry or birth. Intervening when the problems are already there is much more expensive than early support measures. He therefore also worked on the Basel early intervention concept for children. The conceptual basis of the work is anchored in the government council's integration model of 1999 and in the cantonal integration law of 2008. In 2014, the Basel electorate approved another step in modernization with welcome talks and free German courses with over 60%.

As an integration delegate, he was a member of the project management of the strategy groups for integral urban development and the fight against youth unemployment.

Since January 1, 2009, Kessler has been the «urban developer» or head of cantonal and urban development. This department comprises the management with staff and the specialist units Basics and Strategies, District Development, Urban Housing, Diversity and Integration (since June 1, 2011) and equality of people with a disability (June 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015) in the presidential department of Canton of Basel-Stadt. He is also head of the cantonal legislative plan conference and the specialist conference Wohnforum Basel.

Since November 1, 2016, Kessler has also been head of the newly created Task Force Radicalization Basel-Stadt and a member of the Radicalization Working Group of the Swiss Association of Cities. He is also involved in the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Radicalization and Violent Extremism.

Kessler is visiting lecturer at higher technical schools and universities in Germany and abroad. In December 2007, the Federal Council re- elected him to the Federal Commission on Drugs Issues for four years and a new member of the Federal Children and Youth Commission (2008 to the end of 2015) . He has been an advisory board member at the Swiss Forum for Education since 2009 and has also been a member of the advisory board of the Fondation CH 2048 since 2015. On January 11, 2017, it was announced that he would be leaving the presidential department on February 8, 2017 "by mutual agreement". Since then he has worked as a project developer and consultant for executives at home and abroad (urban development, migration, security).

In the Swiss parliamentary elections in 2019, he is running for the National Council on the list of the FDP Basel-Stadt .

Works

  • Thomas Kessler: "Hemp in Switzerland - on origin, culture, research, breeding and law", Nachtschatten-Verlag, 1981, ISBN 978-3-03788-133-0
  • Thomas Kessler: "Cannabis Helvetica: Hemp in Switzerland - Hope for Drug Policy" , Nachtschatten-Verlag, 1985, ISBN 3-907080-02-5

Video material

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Kessler, Basel, candidate for the National Council. Retrieved February 14, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Thomas Kessler, Basel, id-kesser. Retrieved February 14, 2019 .
  3. ↑ WNG agence digital: FDP.The Liberals Basel-Stadt - Welcome - Political Party - Switzerland. Retrieved February 14, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Kessler, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Head of the Cantonal and Urban Development Department, Basel-Stadt
DATE OF BIRTH 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Weisslingen