Editing Arnold Koller

{{short description|Swiss politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Arnold Koller
| image               = Arnold Koller Portrait.jpg
| office1             = [[List of members of the Swiss Federal Council|Member of the Federal Council]]
| term_start1         = 1986
| term_end1           = 1999
| predecessor1        = [[Kurt Furgler]]
| successor1          = [[Ruth Metzler]]
| office2             = [[President of the Swiss Confederation|President of Switzerland]]
| term_start2         = 1 January 1997
| term_end2           = 31 December 1997
| predecessor2        = [[Jean-Pascal Delamuraz]]
| successor2          = [[Flavio Cotti]]
| office3             = 
| term_start3         = 1 January 1990
| term_end3           = 31 December 1990
| predecessor3        = Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
| successor3          = Flavio Cotti
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1933|8|29|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[St. Gallen]], [[Switzerland]]<ref>Hermann Bischofberger: Koller, Arnold. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.</ref>
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland]]
| birth_name          = Arnold Koller
| children            = 2
| spouse              = {{marriage|Erica Brander<br>|1972}}
| alma_mater          = [[University of St. Gallen]] ([[Licentiate (degree)|Licentiate]])<br>[[University of Fribourg]] ([[Licentiate (degree)|Licentiate]])<br>[[University of Fribourg]] ([[PhD]])
}}

'''Arnold Koller''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ɒ|l|l|ə|r}}; {{Respell|koll-ər}} born 29 August 1933) is a Swiss professor and politician. He served as a member of the [[Federal Council (Switzerland)|Federal Council]] from 1987 to 1999 for the [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP)]]. Koller previously served as a member of the [[National Council (Switzerland)|National Council]] from 1971 to 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ratsmitglied ansehen |url=https://www.parlament.ch/de/biografie/arnold-koller/426 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=[[Federal Assembly (Switzerland)|Federal Assembly]]}}</ref> He did also serve two terms of the as [[President of the Swiss Confederation]] in 1990 and 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Der Bund 23. Februar 1990 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=DBB19900223-01.2.29.2&srpos=5 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thuner Tagblatt 7. Dezember 1989 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=TTB19891207-01.2.19.3&srpos=8 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thuner Tagblatt 5. Dezember 1996 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=TTB19961205-01.2.9&srpos=1 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}}</ref> He is primarily known for [[Lex Koller]], a Swiss Federal Act on Acquisitions of Real Estate by Persons Abroad, which he initiated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Engadiner Post 31. Januar 2013 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=EDP20130131-01.2.22&srpos=4 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Walliser Bote 11. Mai 1995 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=WAB19950511-01.2.109&srpos=3 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Koller was born 29 August 1933 in [[St. Gallen|St. Gallen, Switzerland]], the oldest of five children, to Alois Arnold Koller and Genoveva ([[Birth name|née]] Brülisauer). His father was an organist and elementary school teacher while his mother was a homemaker. He attended schools in [[Appenzell]]. Until 1957, Koller studied [[Economics]] in [[St. Gallen]] and then until 1959 Jurisprudence at the [[University of Fribourg]] and the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. He received a [[Licentiate (degree)|Licentiate]] degree in both majors. He received his [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] from the [[University of Fribourg]] 1966 respectively 1971.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Koller, Arnold |url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/articles/004739/2022-03-02/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=hls-dhs-dss.ch |language=de}}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1960, Koller was admitted to the Bar of [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]]. He initially worked as a counsel in the legal department of [[Swiss Post|PTT]] and from 1964 to 1966 in the Secretary of the Swiss Cartel Commission. Since completing his doctorate, he has worked as university professor and lecturer for [[Economics]] and [[Jurisprudence]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Koller, Arnold |url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/articles/004739/2022-03-02/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=hls-dhs-dss.ch |language=de}}</ref>

== Politics ==
He was elected to the [[Federal Council of Switzerland|Federal Council]] on 10 December 1986 as a member of the [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland]] from the canton of [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]]. He handed over office on 30 April 1999.

During his time in office he held the following departments:<ref>Kreis, Georg, ed. ''Switzerland and the Second World War.'' Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000. 90.</ref>
*[[Federal Military Department]] (1987–1988)
*[[Federal Department of Justice and Police]] (1989)
*[[Federal Military Department]] (1989)
*[[Federal Department of Justice and Police]] (1990–1999)
He was [[President of the Confederation (Switzerland)|President of the Confederation]] twice in 1990 and 1997.

Arnold Koller was [[Chairperson|Chairman of the Board]] of the Second International Conference on Federalism held in [[St. Gallen]] in 2002. The conference was organised based on the Governmental Learning Spiral, a method to design problem-solving events in politics. The conference background papers, proceedings and plenary speeches as well as the method are described in the book "Federalism in a Changing World – Learning from Each Other", which he edited together with Raoul Blindenbacher.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9780773571402 |title=Federalism in a Changing World |date=2003-04-11 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |doi=10.1515/9780773571402 |isbn=978-0-7735-7140-2 |editor-last=Blindenbacher |editor-first=Raoul |editor-last2=Koller |editor-first2=Arnold}}</ref> 

From 2006 to 2010 Arnold Koller was the Chair of the [[Forum of Federations]]. This is an international organisation designed to help develop best practices in countries around the world with federal and devolved systems of government. 

== Personal life ==
In 1972, he married Erica Brander, then a flight attendant for [[Swissair]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neue Zürcher Nachrichten 11. Dezember 1986 — e-newspaperarchives.ch |url=http://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=NZN19861211-01.2.15.1&srpos=1 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=www.e-newspaperarchives.ch |language=de}}</ref> They have two daughters.
Koller became an honorary citizen of [[Gossau, St. Gallen|Gossau]] in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rohner |first=Rafael |title=Gossaus jüngste Ehrenbürger |url=https://www.tagblatt.ch/ostschweiz/stgallen-gossau-rorschach/gossaus-juengste-ehrenbuerger-ld.357292 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=St. Galler Tagblatt |date=23 February 2011 |language=de}}</ref>

==Selected Publications==
- Blindenbacher, R. and Koller, A. (eds): Federalism in a Changing World – Learning from Each Other. Background Papers, Proceedings and Plenary Speeches of the International Conference on Federalism 2002. Montreal: [[McGill-Queens University Press]], 2003.

- Koller, A., Thürer, D. and Dafflon, B.: Principles of Federalism. Guidelines for Good Federal Practices – A Swiss Contribution. Zurich: Dike Verlag, 2012.

- Koller, A.: Aus der Werkstatt eines Bundesrates. Bern: Stämpfli Verlag, 2014

== See also ==
* [[Lex Koller]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Arnold Koller}}
*{{HDS|4739}}
*{{Swiss Federal Councillor|arnold-koller}}
*{{DNB portal|120733617|TYP=}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-off}}
{{Succession box| before = [[André Gautier]] | title = [[President of the Swiss National Council]] | years = 1984/1985 | after = [[Martin Bundi]]}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Kurt Furgler]] | title = [[Member of the Swiss Federal Council]] | years = 1986&ndash;1999 | after = [[Ruth Metzler]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Swiss Presidents}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koller, Arnold}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:21st-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:People from Appenzell Innerrhoden]]
[[Category:Swiss Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Federal Council (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Swiss Confederation]]
[[Category:Justice ministers of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Defence ministers of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Members of the National Council (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:Presidents of the National Council (Switzerland)]]
[[Category:University of St. Gallen alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of St. Gallen]]