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, Switzerland: a member of the Federal Council from 2012 to 2023, and President of the Confederation in 2018, then again in 2023.
Latest video
Riga Conference 2026 — a conversation with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
10 September 2026RigaCouncil of Europe21 min“Special Conversation with Alain Berset”, recorded at the Riga Conference 2026 on the first day of the Secretary General’s official visit to Latvia. On his agenda that day: the plenary session “Ukraine’s future as a pillar of European security”, the compensation mechanism for Ukraine and the action plan on democratic security. In English.
Source: LATO | Latvian Transatlantic Organisation · Watch on YouTube
News
“What brings Europe together is more than geography” – Alain Berset in Zurich
16.09.2026 — Zurich · Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset on Wednesday called for greater European unity in a time of war and rupture, and for a strong legal and democratic framework on which lasting European security can be built.
Challenges to democracy and regional stability in focus of the Secretary General’s meeting with Bulgarian President
16.09.2026 — Strasbourg · New threats to regional stability and ways to address them through the Council of Europe instruments were among the key themes discussed today by the Council of Europe Secretary General, Alain Berset, and President of Bulgaria, Iliana Iotova.
Press
- Russia Systematically Violates Human Rights in Occupied Ukrainian Territories, Council of Europe Says
- Council of Europe: Human Rights Situation in Occupied Ukrainian Territories Continues to Deteriorate, Warns Against Russian Duma Elections There
- CoE Secretary General highlights the role of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye
- Berset: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey in Europe's new geopolitical center of gravity
- Prince Albert II calls for stronger multilateralism as Monaco hosts Council of Europe ambassadors
Speeches
Churchill Symposium – From Zurich to Strasbourg: European unity in a time of war and rupture
16.09.2026 — Zurich, Switzerland · Black and white. Place Kléber, 12 August 1949. Churchill in front of a full square. Less than three years earlier, in this hall, he asked for a Council of Europe. By the time that photograph was taken, it existed.
Garden Party annuelle de la Représentation permanente de la France
08.07.2026 — Strasbourg, Villa Oppenheimer · Merci Monsieur l’Ambassadeur de France, cher Pap Ndiaye, de nous réunir ici ce soir pour célébrer le 14 juillet — une date ô combien symbolique pour toutes celles et tous ceux qui chérissent la liberté. Cette liberté qui comme l’écrivait Albert Camus est la « seule valeur impérissable de l’histoire. » L’histoire, justement. Peu de pays en ont autant donné à la liberté que la France. Et peu de dates en disent autant que ce 14 juillet 1789. Alors ce soir, permettez-moi un raccourci : imaginons…
Agenda
Alain Berset in Zurich: 80 years after Churchill’s speech, what is the future of European unity?
16 September 2026 12:00 am - 11:59 pmCouncil of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset to pay official visit to Latvia
10 September 2026 12:00 am - 11 September 2026 11:59 pmAlain Berset will participate in the 1567th meeting of the Deputies of the Committee of Ministers in Monaco
1 September 2026 - 2 September 2026
Former President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs in charge of health, social security, culture, gender equality, prevention of racism, amongst other areas.
A Swiss politician with longstanding experience at the highest executive and legislative levels engaged in solution-oriented consensus-building, decision-making and responsible for the management of complex structures.
Fully committed to multilateralism, international law, the rule of law and human rights and steadfastly engaged for the respect of democratic principles and strong institutions at the national and international levels.
I have always been committed to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. As Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Reykjavík Declaration is the compass guiding my commitment to our shared values and the people who call our continent home.
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
→ Committed
to promoting operational action by the Council of Europe supporting Ukraine and its people in the face of Russia’s war of aggression.
→ Determined
to ensure that the Council of Europe carries real political weight on our continent.
→ Convinced
that democratic principles and ‘living together’ are the core strengths of a European family of nations founded on the rule of law.
→ Resolved
to put the commitments made at the Summit in Reykjavík into action.
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