Willy Spühler was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 politician.

He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council

Swiss Federal Council

The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....

 on 17 December 1959, representing the Canton of Zürich

Canton of Zürich

The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...

, and handed over office on 31 January 1970. He was affiliated to the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

. He was a municipal councillor in Zurich in 1928 and a national councillor from 1938 to 1959. He was the first foreign minister to advocate Switzerland's membership of the United Nations in 1966. One week after de Gaulle's Vive le Quebéc libre!, Spühler delivered a speech on pluringual Switzerland during Montreal's Universal Exhibition in 1967 .

During his time in office he held the following departments:

• Department of Posts and Railways (1960–1962), renamed Department of Transport, Communications and Energy (1963–1965)
• Political Department (1966–1970)

He was President of the Confederation in 1963 and 1968. After retirement, he presided the Pro Helvetia Foundation and the consultative commission for Switzerland's presence abroad.

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