Between 1991 and 2001 he was a member of the municipal council of Thônex and a member of the Grand Council of Geneva from 2001 to 2003.[4] He became a member of the National Council in 2003[4] and was re-elected until 2019. In November 2019 he was elected into the Council of States representing the SP for the Canton of Geneva.[5]
Political positions
In 2007 he suggested that members of the Swiss diaspora were to be represented in Parliament, which in 2009 was voted down by the Council of States.[6] Since 2017 Sommaruga was a main force behind a law which would have prohibited nuclear weapons in Switzerland, both signed by the National council and the Counci of States,[7] but on request of the Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis, the Federal Council refused to sign it.[8]
As a member of the National Council, he was the co-president of the Parliamentarian Group for the relations to the Kurdish people.[9] He was also critical to the Israeli incursion into the Gaza strip in 2008–2009 and in 2017, he asked in the National Council if a prosecution would be launched against the Israeli politician Tzipi Livni, who visited Switzerland at the time.[10] Besides he is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement with other politicians of the SP.[11]
Professional career
He is a lawyer for the tenants' association of Switzerland in Geneva[1] and in November 2016, he was elected their president.[12][13] Since 2018, he is also the president of the board of directors of the Swiss branch of the European NGO for social justiceSolidar.[14]
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