Viktor Baumeler becomes Chairman of the Board of Directors of SR DRS and SF

 The Regional Council of SRG Deutschschweiz elected Viktor Baumeler as Chairman of the company on Friday. This makes him ex officio Chairman of the Board of Directors of Schweizer Radio DRS and Schweizer Fernsehen. Baumeler, who is State Secretary of the Canton of Lucerne and was previously Vice-Chairman of SRG Deutschschweiz, will take up the post at the beginning of 2008. He succeeds Hans Fünfschilling, a member of the Council of States from the canton of Basel-Landschaft, who is stepping down due to the statutory term limit, according to an SRG press release. Newly elected to the Board of Directors of SRG German-speaking Switzerland from among several candidates were government councillors Esther Gassler-Leuenberger (Solothurn) and Karin Keller-Sutter (St.Gallen) as well as Niklaus Ullrich, Canton Baselland's Culture Commissioner. They replace Hans Fünfschilling and the two National Councillors Brigitta Gadient (Graubünden) and Doris Stump (Aargau), who are leaving the Board of Directors due to the incompatibility of their parliamentary mandate with functions in SRG bodies as stipulated in the Parliament Act.
Heinz Karrer, CEO of Axpo Holding AG, and Peter Bamert, CEO of Ex Libris AG, were confirmed as members of the Board of Directors. SRG Director General Armin Walpen is also an ex officio member of the Board of Directors.