Karin Keller-Sutter Biography: Husband, Age, Height, Parents, Ethnicity, Politics, Net Worth, Controversy

Karin Keller-Sutter is a Swiss politician and former conference interpreter who rose from cantonal security and justice leadership in St. Gallen to the top tier of Swiss federal power.

She became widely known after entering Switzerland’s seven-member Federal Council in 2019, later taking over the Federal Department of Finance in 2023, and then becoming President of the Swiss Confederation for 2025.

Her name is closely tied to Swiss policy debates on asylum and internal security from her years leading the Justice and Police Department, and to banking oversight and fiscal strategy in the years following the Credit Suisse collapse as finance minister.

Profile

• Full name: Karin Maria Keller-Sutter
• Date of birth: 22 December 1963
• Age: 62 years old
• Gender: Female
• Place of birth: Uzwil, St. Gallen, Switzerland
• State of origin: St. Gallen, Switzerland
• Nationality: Swiss
• Profession: Politician; President of the Swiss Confederation (2025); Head of the Federal Department of Finance
• Parents: Walter Sutter Sr. (father); Rosa Sutter (née Schnyder) (mother)
• Siblings: Walter “Jesy” Sutter, Rolf Sutter, Bernhard Sutter
• Spouse: Dr. med. Morten Keller
• Children: N/A
• Relationship status: Married
• Religion: Catholic
• Ethnicity: Swiss
• Net worth: $3 million

Early Life and Education

Karin Keller-Sutter is now 62 years old. She was born on 22 December 1963 in Uzwil, St. Gallen, Switzerland as Karin Maria Sutter, the youngest of four children. Her father, Walter Sutter Sr., and her mother, Rosa Sutter (née Schnyder), ran hospitality businesses for years, and she attended school in Wil and later in Neuchâtel.

Her education combined languages and teaching. She trained in interpretation at the Dolmetscherschule Zürich (now part of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences), later studied political science in London and at the Université de Montréal, and completed a postgraduate diploma in pedagogy at the University of Fribourg.

Personal Life

Karin Keller-Sutter married Dr. med. Morten Keller in 1989. They live in Wil (canton of St. Gallen) and have no children.

Career

Karin Keller-Sutter’s rise to the Federal Council followed a steady path through municipal and cantonal leadership before she became a national executive.

She entered politics at the local level in Wil, serving as a municipal councillor from 1992 to 2000, and also served in the cantonal parliament of St. Gallen during the late 1990s.

In 2000, she was elected to the Government of the Canton of St. Gallen (Regierungsrat), where she was responsible for security and justice and later presided over the cantonal government in 2006–2007.

In 2011, she was elected to the Council of States to represent St. Gallen and later became President of the Council of States for 2017–2018, a role that put her frequently in front of national media and deepened her profile across party lines.

On 5 December 2018, the United Federal Assembly elected her to the Federal Council, and she took office on 1 January 2019. From 2019 to 2022 she headed the Federal Department of Justice and Police, overseeing areas such as migration and asylum policy, policing coordination, and internal security.

On 1 January 2023, she moved to lead the Federal Department of Finance. In this role she has been at the center of debates on banking regulation and taxpayer protection in the post–Credit Suisse era, including proposals aimed at tighter capital rules for systemically important banks and broader reforms to reduce the risk of future state-backed rescues.

She served as Vice President of the Federal Council in 2024 and became President of the Swiss Confederation for 2025, a rotating one-year role that adds heavy representational and diplomatic duties to her finance portfolio.

Net Worth

Karin Keller-Sutter’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $3 million.

Controversy

Karin Keller-Sutter’s most consistent controversies have been policy-driven rather than personal.

As justice minister, she faced criticism over tougher approaches to asylum and migration, including public disputes with neighboring countries about whether Switzerland was effectively managing transit routes and returns.

Another flashpoint was the move toward examining asylum seekers’ mobile phone data to help verify identity, a measure that raised privacy and proportionality concerns and became part of a broader European debate about enforcement tools versus civil liberties.

During her presidential year, she also drew criticism for choosing to communicate on the platform X, with opponents arguing that the platform’s direction and moderation record made it unsuitable for official communication, while supporters framed it as a practical channel to reach the public quickly.

Social Media

• X (Twitter): @keller_sutter