Title of ambassador conferred on Benno Laggner in his function as chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group

In June 2017 Switzerland will assume the chairmanship of the Nuclear Suppliers Group for one year. The group of 48 states seeks to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and components of nuclear explosive devices through harmonised export control lists and the exchange of relevant information.

Benno Laggner was born in 1963 in Cooma/Australia and is a citizen of Tuggen in the canton of Schwyz. Following a degree in international relations at the University of St Gallen he joined the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in 1994. Having completed his training periodin Bern and Ankara, he was posted to the Political Affairs Division II. In 2000, he was transferred to the Swiss Mission to the UN in New York, and in 2004 to the Embassy in Berlin. In 2007, he returned to the Department’s offices in Bern to head the team coordinating UN relations in the position of Deputy Head of Political Affairs Division III. From September 2010, he was the Deputy Chef de Cabinet of the President of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. From October 2011, Mr Laggner bore the title of ambassador in his function as the Head of the Task Force for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation , and from May 2012 as Head of the Division for Security Policy at the Directorate of Political Affairs in Bern. Since August 2016, he has been Deputy Head of the Swiss Delegation for security policy issues to the OSCE in Vienna with the title of minister.

Address for enquiries:

FDFA Information
Tel. +41 58 462 31 53
info@eda.admin.ch

Publisher:

The Federal Council
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs