Jean-Daniel Ruch

Born in Moutier in 1963, Jean-Daniel Ruch studied international relations in Geneva. After four years in the Department of Defence, he joined the Swiss diplomatic service in 1992. He worked for the OSCE in Vienna from 1994 to 1997 and in Warsaw from 1998 to 2000. He continued his career in the Balkans, first at the Swiss embassy in Belgrade (2000-2003), then as political adviser to the prosecutor of the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal (ICTY) from 2003 to 2007. From 2008, he led Swiss policy in the Middle East as the Confederation became involved in the search for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jean-Daniel Ruch was Switzerland’s ambassador to Serbia and to Montenegro (2012-2016), to Israel (2016-2021) and to Turkey (2021-2023).