I was born in Fribourg/Freiburg in Switzerland.
In my home village I also had to say Farewell to my father, Charly in 2000.
In 1994, I spent my summer holidays on the 'Isola dei Pescatori' (on Lake Maggiore, near Stresa in Italy). This led to a book of a few words and lots of pictures.
While I was in Sarajevo as a Counsellor at the Embassy of Switzerland, a young Italian named Renato told me the story of his love for Katherine. 'Walking without Katherine' was published in 1996 and the sequel, 'A Gorazde Dream', followed a year later.
Sarajevo was also the scene for 'Between Life and Death', comprising photographs of the cemeteries of Sarajevo contrasted with portraits of members of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra. You may hear them perform 'Uvertira na bosanske teme/Overture on Bosnian Themes' by Eric Breton.
As the new millennium dawned I was working in London. Here are pictures of my London taxi and my five visits to the Tate Modern while under construction in 1999.
On 30 September 1999 at the Embassy of Switzerland in London, I gave a talk on how Switzerland, with its multicultural experience and expertise, could influence the current discussions on globalisation - 'From Sarajevo to London, to a Swiss Global Art Village'.
During my stay in London, I celebrated my 40th birthday. Read '40daysbefore40' - a toilet book!
From London I returned back to Berne in 2003, I was Head of the Human Rights Policy Section of the Swiss Foreign Ministry and of the Task Force Human Rights Council.
After four years in Berne, I went to Abu Dhabi. I was the Swiss Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I discovered the culture of Majilis and invited for my fiftieth birthday to a fifty-hour Majilis.
In 2012 I went back to Berne. I became the Head of the Middle East and North Africa Division. During this period I also became a member of the Mozartweg Association.
In 2019 Vienna was the next station of my life. I was Ambassador and Head of Switzerland's Permanent Mission to the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations (UN) and the International Organisations (IO) in Vienna.
Since 2022 I am the Swiss Special Envoy MENA, based in Berne. Living on the shore of Lake Geneva, I often see the Mont-Blanc. And on my way to Berne, I always cross the 'Röstigraben', after Fribourg/Freiburg, over the famous 'Grandfey Bridge'.
Finally, in life you give feedback and you receive feedback. In the last circle, Feedback, you will find some feedback from media.
If you would like to give me feedback, you can write to me:
