Beat Jans (German pronunciation: [beːat jans]; born 12 June 1964) is a Swiss environmental scientist and politician who serves as a member of the Federal Council, after being elected in 2023 to succeed Alain Berset, assuming office on 1 January 2024.[1][2][3] A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served on the National Council from 2010 to 2020,[4] and president of the Executive Council of Basel-Stadt from 2021 to 2023.
Beat Jans | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Swiss Federal Councillor | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2024 | |
| Department | Justice and Police (2024–present) |
| Preceded by | Alain Berset |
| President of Executive Council of Basel-Stadt | |
| In office 1 July 2021 – 14 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Elisabeth Ackermann |
| Succeeded by | Lukas Engelberger |
| Member of National Council (Switzerland) | |
| In office 31 May 2010 – 17 December 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Rudolf Rechsteiner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Beat Jans 12 June 1964 Basel, Switzerland |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse |
Tracy Renee Glass
(m. 2004) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Basel, Switzerland |
| Alma mater | ETH Zurich (Diploma) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website Parliament website |
Early life and education
editJans was born on 12 July 1964, in Basel, Switzerland, to Anton Jans, a metalworker, and Maria Jans (née Ober), a sales associate. He was raised in a blue collar family living in Riehen. His mother immigrated to Switzerland after World War II from Germany.[5]
He completed his apprenticeship as a farmer in 1985 and followed up on his studies at the Technical College for Tropical Agriculture from where he graduated as an agricultural technician in 1987. He graduated in Environmental Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in 1994.[6]
Career
editHe was involved in the development projects of the Swiss Helvetas in Paraguay and Haiti between 1987 and 1989[6] and was a member of the board at Pro Natura between 2000 and 2010,[6] when he resigned to assume office as a member of the National Council of Switzerland.[7] Between 2010 until 2015 he was a member of the board at ecos.[6]
Politics
editJans joined the SP in 1998 and became a member of the Grand Council of Basel Stadt in 2001.[6] In the Grand Council, he was a member of the Commission of Economics and Taxes.[6] He remained a member of the Grand Council after he joined the National Council of Switzerland in 2010[7] succeeding Ruedi Rechsteiner[8] and only resigned in 2011.[9] He was re-elected to the National Council in the federal elections in 2011,[10] 2015[11] and 2019.[12] In the National Council, he was also member of the Commission of Economics and Taxes.[13] As it became clear that Anita Fetz would not stand for another term in the Council of States for Basel-Stadt,[14] he put himself forward as a candidate, but later withdrew to enable a female candidate for the SP.[15] He was again a candidate for the National Council and Eva Herzog for the Council of States. Both candidacies were successful in the October 2019 federal elections.[16]
He was elected vice-president of the SP in 2015, succeeding Jaqueline Fehr,[17] but resigned in 2015 when the party abolished the offices of the president and vice-president and instituted a co-presidency of Mattea Meyer and Cédric Wermuth.[18]
He was elected into the Executive Council of Basel-Stadt on the 25 October 2020[19] and as its president in November 2020.[20] Sarah Wyss of the SP succeeded him, after he resigned as a member of the National Council in December 2020.[21]
Federal Council of Switzerland
editDuring the 2023 Swiss federal election he became an official candidate for Federal Council to succeed Alain Berset for the Social Democratic Party.[22] The election was held on 13 December 2023 and he was the official nominee together with fellow politician Jon Pult. Three ballot rounds were required to determine the successor. During the second ballot round, Jans was ahead of his counter parties receiving 112 votes, opposing candidate Daniel Jositsch received 70 votes (presumably from the Swiss People's Party and The Liberals).[23] He was ultimately elected to Federal Council during the third round of ballot.[24][25][26] Jans assumed office on 1 January 2024.
Personal life
editOn 11 June 2004, Jans married American-born Tracy Renee Glass (b. 1972), a biostatistician originally from Miami, Florida, whom he met while hiking in Hawaii. They had a long distance relationship for two years before she relocated to Basel to take a position at Novartis, a large pharmaceutical company. She currently works as team lead at Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.[27][28] They have two daughters.[29][30] His wife and his children are Swiss-American dual citizens.[31][32][33]
References
edit- ^ Schäfer, Fabian (2023-09-22). "Beat Jans will SP-Bundesrat werden". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "Nachfolge von Alain Berset - Basler SP-Regierungspräsident Beat Jans will Bundesrat werden". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 2023-09-22. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ Rosch, Benjamin (2023-09-22). "Basler Regierungsrat Beat Jans will für die SP in den Bundesrat". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "Ratsmitglied ansehen". Federal Assembly. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "Berset-Nachfolge – «Ich mag Herausforderungen sehr»: Beat Jans will in den Bundesrat". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2023-09-22. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ a b c d e f "Beat Jans" (in German). Sozialdemokratische Partei Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Neuer SP-Nationalrat Beat Jans bleibt im Grossen Rat". Online Reports (in German). 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Beat Jans geht für Rudolf Rechsteiner nach Bern". Aargauer Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Beat Jans". Federal Assembly. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Wahlen 2011" (in German). Kanton Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Wahlen 2015" (in German). Kanton Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Wahlen 2019" (in German). Kanton Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Mitglieder der Kommission für Wirtschaft und Abgaben des Nationalrates (WAK-NR)" (PDF). Nationalrat. 23 November 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Polit-Urgestein tritt zurück - Fetz ist zuversichtlich, dass es keinen Frauenstreik mehr braucht". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 20 June 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Weg frei für Eva Herzog – Beat Jans zieht Ständeratskandidatur zurück". Zeitung für die Region Basel (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Linker Aufschwung für Basel im Nationalrat ++ Katja Christ neu dabei, Herzog Ständerätin ++ Baselbiet muss in den 2. Wahlgang". Zeitung für die Region Basel (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ Schultheiss, Jeremias (5 December 2015). "SP-Delegierte wählen Beat Jans zum Vizepräsidenten". TagesWoche (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 2018-11-07. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "SP-Präsidium: Duo Mattea Meyer und Cédric Wermuth folgt auf Christian Levrat" (in German). SP Schweiz. 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Wahlen 25. Oktober 2020" (in German). Kanton Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Zweiter Wahlgang: Stephanie Eymann, Kaspar Sutter und Esther Keller in den Regierungsrat gewählt, Beat Jans ist neuer Regierungspräsident" (in German). Kanton Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Basler SP-Politikerin Sarah Wyss im Nationalrat vereidigt" (in German). Federal Assembly. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ Zatti, Zara (2023-12-13). "Politologin über die Wahlchancen von Jans: «Zurückhaltender Optimismus ist angebracht»". bz Basel (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "Beat Jans baut Vorsprung im zweiten Wahlgang aus". SWI swissinfo.ch (in German). 2023-12-13. Archived from the original on 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ Pfaff, Isabel (2023-12-13). "Wahl in der Schweiz: Beat Jans wird Bundesrat". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "Swiss name new president and cabinet members". Reuters. December 13, 2023. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Keystone-SDA (2023-12-13). "Beat Jans chosen as Switzerland's new cabinet minister". SWI swissinfo.ch. Archived from the original on 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "Beat Jans: Drei Frauen zuhause – so tickt der neue Bundesrat". 20 Minuten (in German). 2023-12-13. Archived from the original on 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "Treffen mit der Frau von Beat Jans – «Meiner Familie in den USA musste ich erklären, dass ich nicht die First Lady werde»". Basler Zeitung (in German). 2023-12-11. Archived from the original on 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ "SP-Nationalrat Beat Jans wagt einen Seiltanz mit seiner Familie". Schweizer Illustrierte (in German). Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "SP-Nationalrat Beat Jans wagt mit seiner Familie einen Seiltanz - 9 Promis, 99 Tipps für Ferien in der Schweiz". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Archived from the original on 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ see American nationality law for further information
- ^ "Beat Jans über seine Dilemmas – «In den letzten 17 Jahren bin ich sicher zehnmal in die USA geflogen»". Basler Zeitung (in German). 2021-08-06. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ Lämbgen, Julian. "Tracy Jans: «Ich würde nicht die First Lady werden»". Nau (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-08.