Jean-François Rime is a Swiss entrepreneur and politician from the Canton of Fribourg

Canton of Fribourg

The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg. The name Fribourg is French, whereas is the German name for both the canton and the town.-History:...

, representing the Swiss People's Party

Swiss People's Party

The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...

 in the National Council.

Rime owns a sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 in Bulle

Bulle

Bulle is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly independent municipality of La Tour-de-Trême.-History:...

. As a member of the Free Democratic Party

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

, he belonged to the municipal parliament of Bulle from 1989 to 1991. After joining the Swiss People's Party, he was elected to the national parliament in 2003. Since his reelection in 2007, he is vice president of the party's parliamentary group.

In August 2008, the People's Party announced Rime's candidature in the 2010 Swiss Federal Council election

Swiss Federal Council election, 2010

Two by-elections to the Swiss Federal Council were held in Switzerland on 22 September 2010, after Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger announced he would leave the Federal Council as of December 31, 2010. as well as incumbent Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz announced his intention to retire...

.