Signatories

Ms. Christine Beerli is currently the vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. Ms. Beerli began her political career on the Geneva municipal council, where she served from 1980 to 1983. From 1986 to 1991, she was a member of the legislative assembly of the Canton of Bern.

In 1991 she was elected to the upper house of the Swiss parliament, where she remained until 2003 chairing the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Committee for Social Security and Health. Ms Beerli chaired the caucus of the Free Democratic Party in Switzerland's Federal Assembly from 1996 to 2003. She also served on committees dealing with security policy and economic and legal affairs. After retiring from politics in 2003, Ms. Beerli became head of Swissmedic in 2006: the Swiss supervisory authority for therapeutic products.