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Perhaps the most surprising thing about Livia Leu (59) is her husband’s work: Donat Agosti is an ant researcher. And, like the two sons, he travels a lot. Leu has already held positions in New York, Cairo and Tehran. The Graubünden native is currently the Swiss ambassador to Paris.
Now he could go back to Bern. As reported by the “Tages-Anzeiger”, Leu will become Secretary of State in the foreign department of Ignazio Cassis (59). The current Secretary of State, the controversial “Mr. Europe »Roberto Balzaretti (55) – will assume the position of Leu in Paris in a kind of job exchange.
Leu is just one name out of four
Nobody wants to officially confirm that. The Federal Council will probably bow tomorrow on the delicate and complicated staff, until then nobody says anything that can be quoted. But sources close to the chancellor confirm that Leu is one of the people eligible for the position of super secretary of state in the FDFA.
Other possible candidates are Thomas Greminger (59), president-elect of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Alexandre Fasel (59), current ambassador in London, or Dominique Paravicini (53), current ambassador in Ankara.
At most, two seats must be allocated: the Federal Council is faced with the question of whether it “only” wants an EDA Secretary of State to handle the most important EU file himself, or whether it will also appoint a negotiator who will work with Brussels on the framework agreement. negotiated.
The first ambassador to Tehran
One thing is clear: Leu could do both. If the 59-year-old diplomatic maxim has shown something, it is that it can negotiate. Not only because, before her move to Paris, she was a delegate of the Federal Council for trade agreements in the State Secretariat for the Economy. But mainly because Leu was previously Swiss ambassador to Iran and also represented US interests in Tehran. As the first woman to hold this position, she negotiated for months the release of three American tourists who got lost while walking in the Iranian Kurdish region and were arrested for espionage.
Hillary Clinton thanked him
He was successful, which earned him the thanks of the then Secretary of State of the United States, Hillary Clinton (72), and a meeting with her. “Such situations require patience and diplomatic tenacity,” Leu said later of the difficult rounds of negotiations. “As a diplomat, it is important that you do not judge or judge morally, but rather use the available room for maneuver.”
She found her gender to be an asset in Tehran: “The Iranians were always very professional and kind to me. They find it harder to say no to a woman. Also, as the only woman it is easier to remember important politicians, ”she says.
Tenacity and the ability to take advantage of the room for maneuver, two key characteristics that will be necessary in the forthcoming negotiations with the EU on the framework agreement, which is nearing completion in Switzerland. Leu shouldn’t shy away from that. In Iran, it wasn’t just about follow-up and arbitration. It’s about nuclear weapons and human life.
