Roger de Weck is the new SRG Director General
The new Director General of SRG is Roger de Weck. Jean-Bernard Münch, Chairman of the Board of Directors, introduced him to the media on Tuesday following his election by the Board of Directors and its approval by the SRG Delegates’ Assembly. De Weck, 56, will take office on January 1, 2011, as the successor to Armin Walpen.
«We are convinced that in Roger de Weck we have found a respected, media-savvy individual of integrity who also has experience as a leader in positions involving extensive operational and financial responsibility, and who thus largely meets our requirements. De Weck is a guarantee of responsible journalism grounded in the right values. Thanks to his affinity for sociopolitical issues, his roots in French-speaking Switzerland, and his extensive network in politics, business, culture, and academia, he is ideally positioned to advance our media company,» explains Jean-Bernard Münch, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SRG.
Career History
Roger de Weck began his journalism career at the Tribune de Genève; later, he also wrote for 24 heures, Die Weltwoche, and served as the Paris correspondent for Die Zeit. In 1990, he took over as head of the business section at Die Zeit in Hamburg. In 1992, he became editor-in-chief of the Tages-Anzeiger and a member of Tamedia’s executive board. In 1997, he returned to *Die Zeit* as editor-in-chief. Since 2001, he has been a freelance journalist, working for television, radio, and print media both in Switzerland and abroad.
In 2004, he became president of the board of trustees of the prestigious Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales in Geneva, which he helped merge with the Institut universitaire d’études du développement. Today, he serves as president of the merged Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (Graduate Institute), which has approximately 900 students and 45 professors.
SRG Directors General Since 1931
This year, the SRG’s new Director General was elected by the Delegates’ Assembly for the first time. When outgoing Director General Armin Walpen was elected in 1996, it was still up to the Federal Council to confirm the nomination.
Since the SRG was founded in 1931, seven directors general have led the organization. The last three were members of the CVP. Here is a list of the SRG’s directors general:
A CVP politician from Upper Valais, a lawyer whose career has taken him through the Federal Office for Electronic Communications (EVED, part of the Federal Department of Transport, Energy and Communications), the *Tages-Anzeiger*, the Federal Department of Justice and Police (EJPD), and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG). Under his leadership, SRG was given the suffix «idée suisse»; Schweizer Radio International transitioned from a shortwave broadcaster to the Swissinfo internet platform; and the digitization of radio and television began.
A member of the CVP from Ticino, he had built his career at Radio and Television Ticino (RTSI). During his term in office, the SRG was reorganized, and the third and fourth television and radio networks were introduced.
Member of the National Council (CVP/SO), first Price Commissioner in 1973–74, member of the National Bank’s Executive Board. During his tenure, SRG radio introduced third-program channels for a young audience (in response to the licensing of private radio stations in 1983), and television launched Teletext.
A member of the FDP from Ticino, formerly an editor at the SDA and director of Radio Monteceneri. He is particularly committed to ensuring that radio and television remain independent of political influence.
Previously director of the Lausanne radio studio. During his tenure, television and the SRG radio's second channels were introduced.
As Director General, he steered the SRG through the difficult war years. Under his leadership, the SRG became more centralized.
A pioneer of radio in Lausanne becomes the first director general of the SRG. The SRG is granted an exclusive license by the Federal Council for radio broadcasting in Switzerland.
(Image: Keystone)
