Gret Haller was born 1947 and completed her grammar school and law studies in Zurich. She earned her Doctorate in Law at the University of Zurich in 1973 with a dissertation on the UNO – the human rights pact and the legal position of women in Switzerland. She worked as a legal person in an architecture and urban planning practice from 1973-1974 before going on to work for two years as an administrator for the European Convention of Human Rights at the Federal Department of Justice and Police. In 1978 she opened her own legal practice in Bern.
Her political career began in 1985 as a member of the municipality of the city of Bern (Department of Education). She was a member of Swiss Parliament (National Council) from 1987-1994 and was elected to president of the National Council in 1993. Among her many functions, she was member of the parliamentary delegation of the Council of Europe and member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (1993-1994). From 1994-1996 she was ambassador and permanent representative of Switzerland in the Council of Europe. She was nominated European Human Rights Ombudsperson for Bosnia and Herzegovina according to annex 6 of the peace agreement of Dayton/ Paris and held office conscientiously until 2000.
Since 2001 she has worked as a publicist and has published among other works “Die Grenzen der Solidarität – Europa and die USA im Umgang mit Staat, Nation und Religion”, 2002. In 2004 the University of St Gallen awarded her with an honorary doctor’s title.
The above is an extract from: http://www.150jahre.ethz.ch/program/others/veranstaltungen/Referenten/haller/index_EN last accessed 14 May 2014.