Federal Council Has Elected New ENSI Board

News

The Federal Council has elected the ENSI Board, the body responsible for strategic management and internal supervision of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), for the next four years. It has therefore ensured that the ENSI Board has the necessary specialist expertise at its disposal, and that it will benefit from a good international basis.

Here is the text of the media release by the Federal Council:

According to the ENSI Act, the ENSI Board comprises five to seven members who are elected by the Federal Council every four years. As ENSI commenced its activities on 1 January 2008, the term of office of the current ENSI Board ends on 31 December 2011.

At its meeting today, the Federal Council determined the composition of the ENSI Board for the next four years. Four of the existing members were confirmed in office. Three new members will join the Board. This means that the ENSI Board will be expanded to seven members instead of six at present.

The elected members of the ENSI Board are:

  • Dr Anne Eckhardt (existing member), biophysicist, as Chair
  • Jürg Schmid (existing member), independent safety adviser, as Vice-Chair
  • Dr Hans-Jürgen Pfeiffer (existing member), physicist
  • Pierre Steiner (existing member), electrical engineer
  • Prof. Jacques Giovanola (new member), Professor of Mechanical Systems at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, EPFL)
  • Dr Oskar Grözinger (new member), physicist, former Director of the Nuclear Energy Supervision and Radiation Protection Division of the Federal German State of Baden-Württemberg
  • Dr Werner Bühlmann (new member), lawyer, former Deputy Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)

By electing the ENSI Board, the Federal Council has ensured that the body includes representatives with a high level of specialist knowledge regarding all ENSI’s areas of supervision and key tasks. Two members of the ENSI Board are native French speakers, and two members have spent major periods or all of their professional careers abroad.

DETEC examined all the candidacies in respect of independence   by conducting hearings and undertaking in-depth investigations. All the existing and newly elected members of the ENSI Board meet the more stringent implementation provisions on the independence of members of the ENSI Board which came into force on 1 November 2011 (Article 4 of the Ordinance concerning the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate).

The newly elected ENSI Board will take office on 1 January 2012.

For enquiries: DETEC Press and Information Service, 031 322 55 11

Responsible department: Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC)