Pierre Graber
 Pierre Graber    (politician) | ||||||||||
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| Born | 6 December 1908 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland | |||||||||
| Died | 19 July 2003 (Age 94) | |||||||||
| Nationality | Swiss | |||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Neuchâtel, University of Vienna | |||||||||
| Party | Social Democratic Party of Switzerland | |||||||||
Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970–1978). Made a secret agreement with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to release hostages in return for diplomatic support.
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Pierre Graber was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970–1978).[1]
Background
He was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and after studying law in Neuchâtel and Vienna he became attorney-at-law in Lausanne.
Early career
Active in the Social Democratic Party, he was in the municipal parliament of Lausanne (1934–1946), member of the parliament of the canton of Vaud (1937–1946), mayor of Lausanne (1946–1949), member of the National Council (1942–1969, except 1963), he was the Speaker of that Assembly from 1965/66, he sat in the Foreign affairs committee and was deputy chairman of the enquiry parliamentary committee dealing with the Mirage affair. He was also a member of the government of the canton of Vaud (1962–1970) in charge of the Finance Department. He was one of the four members of the Commission to resolve the problem of the Jura.
Swiss Federal Council
He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 10 December 1969. During his time in office, he headed the Political Department, i.e. ministry of foreign affairs. Graber was President of the Confederation in 1975 and handed over office on 31 January 1978. During his term of office, a new law for Cooperation Development was adopted. On 1 August 1975, he signed the Helsinki Final Act of the CSCE on behalf of Switzerland. He obtained the ratification by Parliament of the European Convention on Human Rights in 1974. As president of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, he laid the first stone of the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg on 15 May 1972. At his initiative, Switzerland recognized North Vietnam and North Korea. Graber presided over the diplomatic conference that led to the adoption of the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions in 1977. From 1965 to 1969, he also sat on the Swiss committee of the World Wildlife Foundation.
Secret deal with PFLP
He had to deal with the attack on a Swissair plane in Zarka (Jordan) by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in [1970]][2]. In this context, in 1970, he allegedly made contact, through of Jean Ziegler and without the knowledge of the other members of the Federal Council with the head of foreign policy of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Farouk Kaddoumi. An unofficial agreement, of which the other members of the Swiss government were not informed, might have been made. According to the terms of it, Switzerland would remain spared from Palestinian terrorism but undertakes to support the PLO in its efforts for its diplomatic recognition at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. In the process, Switzerland would not file a complaint against a Palestinian suspect in the attack on Swissair flight 330 in Würenlingen. This unofficial agreement was kept secret until 2016, when Jean Ziegler made his role as facilitator public.
This version was strongly questioned by two former delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Michel Barde and Marcel Boisard, who had participated in the difficult and dangerous negotiations for the release of the passenger hostages of Zarka, then to provide assistance to the victims of the civil war that followed, passed down in history as “Black September” (Ayoul Elesouad).[3]
After retiring, he gave his opinion on major occasions including Switzerland's unsuccessful attempt to join the United Nations in 1986.
Graber died in Lausanne in 2003 at the age of 94.
References
- ↑ www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F4726.php
- ↑ https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/004726/
- ↑ https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/jean-ziegler-facilite-un-accord-secret-entre-suisse-lolp archived
