Charles Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel appointed as new FDFA secretary general
Bern, 18.02.2026 — On the recommendation of the head of the FDFA, Ignazio Cassis, the Federal Council appointed Charles Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel as the new FDFA secretary general at its meeting on 18 February 2026. Currently the FDFA's deputy secretary general, Mr Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel will take up his new position on 1 December 2026. He succeeds Markus Seiler, who will become the new Swiss ambassador to Canada on the same day.
Mr Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel, whose place of origin is La Sagne (canton of Neuchâtel), was born in 1981. He completed his studies in political science, constitutional law and economic history at the University of Zurich in 2010. During and after his studies, he worked in various positions in the fields of culture and film. In 2007, he completed an academic internship at the Swiss embassy in Islamabad. From November 2011, he worked at the FDP.The Liberals' general secretariat, initially as a research assistant, then from 2013 to 2017 as parliamentary group secretary and head of Parliamentary Group & Politics. In November 2017, Mr Cassis appointed him as personal adviser. In December 2018, he was appointed FDFA deputy secretary general in Bern.
Mr Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel will succeed Mr Seiler, who is to become head of mission in Ottawa. The Federal Council has awarded Mr Seiler the title of ambassador for this function. The Federal Council would like to thank Mr Seiler for his many years of service in various roles within the Federal Administration, most recently as FDFA secretary general.
Federal Council appoints new Swiss ambassadors
Further personnel changes in the external network and at FDFA head office will take effect in 2026 as part of the FDFA's periodic transfer rotation and on the basis of appointments made by the Federal Council and the head of the FDFA.
Markus Reubi has been appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the People's Republic of Bangladesh, based in Dhaka.
Christine Schraner Burgener has been appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Republic of Malawi and the Republic of Zambia, based in Harare.
Markus Seiler has been appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Canada and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, based in Ottawa.
Olivier Zehnder has been appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Finland, based in Helsinki.
In addition, the head of the FDFA, Ignazio Cassis, informed the Federal Council that
Claude-Alain Vannay will take over as deputy director general of the Directorate for Resources in Zollikofen on 1 March 2026.