Welcome to Alain Berset’s personal website. He has been Secretary General of the Council of Europe since 2024; his speeches, news and agenda are gathered here. Before Strasbourg, Alain Berset was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2012 to 2023 and President of the Swiss Confederation in 2018 and again in 2023. He had previously been a member of the Council of States (Senate) from 2003 to 2011 and President of the Council of States in 2008-2009.
News
Local democracy is Europe’s early warning system – Alain Berset
Democratic security as a response to street protests across Europe, the young driving change, reforming the Council of Europe to make it fit for...
Drug policies with people at the centre are crucial for democratic security: Alain Berset
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset today called for stronger cooperation across Europe to tackle drug trafficking and addiction,...
Press
- Alain Berset si congratula con la Lista degli studenti serbi
- «Contro il disagio sociale la sola sicurezza non basta: serve un patto generazionale»
- Council of Europe warns Georgian authorities ahead of review of request to ban five opposition parties
- Protests in Europe and Albania, Council of Europe Secretary General reacts
- Alain Berset : « La seule sécurité durable qui existe, c’est la démocratie »
Speeches
51st Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
27 October 2026 — Strasbourg · Two days ago, young people in Serbia did what many said was impossible. They turned protest into a majority. Next Sunday, it will be two years since a railway canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing sixteen people.
High-level international meeting on prevention and recovery from addictions organised by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy
23 October 2026 — San Patrignano, Italy · As we speak, somewhere in Europe, a container arrives in a port with drugs hidden in its cargo. A customs officer is offered a bribe to look the other way. A thirteen-year-old is recruited on social media to sell drugs.
Latest video
PACE autumn session 2026 — questions to the Secretary General
29 September 2026AddressStrasbourgCouncil of Europe48 minQuestions from members of the Parliamentary Assembly and answers from the Secretary General, during the autumn session in Strasbourg.
Source: Council of Europe · Watch on YouTube
Always committed to human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as Secretary General of the Council of Europe, I have made the Reykjavík Declaration the compass of my commitment to our shared values and to the benefit of the people living on our continent.
Signing ceremony with Moldovan President Maia Sandu during her official visit to Switzerland. Photo: Keystone
Exchange with students at the University of Lausanne during the state visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Switzerland, 16 November 2023. Photo: FDFA
Discussion with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Granada. Photo: Keystone
Official meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister
At the WEF in Davos with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, 17 January 2023. Photo: Keystone
Exchange with UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai. Photo: COP28