Alfred Defago

Alfred Defago (PhD in History and German Literature, University of Bern, Switzerland) is a visiting scholar at the UW-Madison. He was Ambassador of Switzerland to the U.S. from 1997-2001 and Consul General of Switzerland in New York from 1994-1997. Prior to his transfer to the U.S., he was Secretary General of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 1994. As Director of the Federal Office of Culture from 1986 to 1993, he oversaw all cultural activities of the Swiss Confederation, including the National Library, the National Museum and all other federal museums and art collections. During his tenure, the National Swiss Literary Archives was established. His public service career began in 1971 when he joined the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, Switzerland's largest broadcast network.

He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Department of the German-language national radio service from 1971-1973 and head of the National and Economic Affairs Department of the SBC from 1973 to 1983. He was Editor-in-Chief of the national radio service of the SBC from 1984 to 1986. He has also studied at the University of Vienna, the German Institute in Rome and the Vatican Library and spent a sabbatical year in Berkeley, California, in 1983.

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