Ruth Dreifuss
President, Switzerland, 1999

Ruth Dreifuss is a member of the Swiss Social Democratic Party and was the first woman ever to become President of the Swiss Confederation. Dreifuss has also served as the Secretary of the Swiss Trade Union and a member of the Swiss Federal Council representing the canton of Geneva. After her term as Prime Minister, she served as head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs until 2002. Before entering politics, Dreifuss worked as a journalist and then a scientific expert at the Federal Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. She holds a Master of Economics from the University of Geneva.