Switzerland's man in London: Ambassador Alexis Lautenberg

London move for anglophile Ambassador

For the new Swiss Ambassador to the UK, Alexis Lautenberg, it has meant a return to the country he knows and loves. Every summer, from the age of four until he reached 18 he would come here on holiday, staying with his aunt who lived in Cambridge.

The 50 year old ambassador, a citizen of both Basle and Ascona, was born in Zurich and completed his formal education at the University of Lausanne where he took a degree in political science.

Later, while working in the Swiss Army's planning department, he returned to the UK to take a postgraduate course at Essex University. "At that time Essex University was very advanced in the application of political science," he recalls. "I found it absolutely first class."

When he joined the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 1974, he faced much more travelling as a diplomat. He trained in Berne, Geneva and Stockholm, then transferred to Warsaw as deputy to the Head of Mission. Next it was back to Geneva with the Swiss delegation to EFTA and GATT.

In 1981 he moved to Bonn as head of the economic section of the Swiss Embassy there, and two years later was promoted Counsellor. In 1985 he took on the title of Minister when he became deputy director of the former Directorate of International Organisations. A year later he returned to Berne as head of the Economic and Financial Service of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

He was made an ambassador in 1993 when he became head of the Swiss Mission to the European Communities in Brussels, and four years ago he took up residence in Rome as Swiss Ambassador to Italy, Malta and San Marino, before moving to London.

Mr Lautenberg told the Swiss Review that for the last five or six years Italy has been in the process of devolving power to the regions, and while in his last post he made a point of visiting different parts of the country and meeting the people.

He fully intends to the the same in the UK, and early visits are now being planned to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But on the controversial question of moving the Swiss Consulate General from Manchester to Edinburgh he said he was not yet in a position to say when it would happen.

During his long career Mr Lautenberg has represented his country on a number of international organisations. From 1987 to 1994 he was on the board of the Foundation for Research in International Banking and Finance at California University.

In this period he was also chairman of the group involved in negotiations on financial planning within the Uruguay Round, and chairman of the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering. Nearer home, he was on the board of the College of Europe in Bruges.