Jean-Jacques de Dardel

Founding Professor of Xinrui School

Vice President of Xinrui Business School

Vice President and professor of international relations of Xinrui Business School, Dr de Dardel is a Swiss career diplomat and scholar who studied in the US, Brazil, Canada and Switzerland. He holds a Science Baccalaureate, a Master in Economics of the University of Geneva, a Diploma of Advanced International Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Science/International Relations from the Graduate Institute of Higher International Studies (IUHEI), Geneva.
He joined the ICRC and was Secretary-Jurist at the International Conference for the Development of International Law (1976-1977). He then entered the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in 1981 and served in Bern and Vienna before being appointed foreign policy speechwriter of the President of the Confederation. He subsequently became diplomatic officer in Political Division I, in charge of Eastern, then Southern Europe. Concurrently, he set up and led the Service of Francophone Affairs dealing with Switzerland’s participation in the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
In 1989, he transferred to Washington (political affairs and media.) In 1993, he became Deputy Chief of Mission in Australia, and Chargé d’Affaires in Papua-New Guinea and Vanuatu. He led a series of Economic surveys of Australian states and developed public diplomacy and cultural activities. In 1996, he transferred to France as Minister for Cultural and Francophone Affairs. He was appointed in 1998 Ambassador and Personal Representative of the President of the Confederation to the Permanent Council of the Francophonie. As such, he was elected president of various committees of the OIF. He also served as Personal Representative of SG Boutros Boutros-Ghali on various missions.
In 2001, he founded and directed the Center for International Security Policy, which was to become the International Security Division of the FDFA, responsible for Switzerland’s participation in the Transatlantic Partnership for Peace and all disarmament issues. He set up and managed numerous international conferences and workshops in Europe. In 2003, J-J de Dardel became the head representative of the Federal authorities in the Organizing Committee of the G8 Summit in Evian, a Franco-Swiss endeavor of considerable proportions.
From 2004 until 2007, he led the Political Division I (Europe, Central Asia, Council of Europe, OSCE) as Ambassador/Assistant Secretary of State. He was the National Coordinator for the Stability Pact for South East Europe and conflict resolution negotiator in two crisis regions. As of May 2007, Dr. de Dardel was Swiss Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the Swiss Mission to NATO. From 2011 until 2014, he was Ambassador to the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco. In addition, in 2013 he became Head of the Swiss Delegation to UNESCO and Ambassador to the OIF. He was Vice-President of the 34th session of the UNESCO Heritage Committee.
From early 2014 to March 2019, he served as Swiss Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, to the Republic of Mongolia and to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with residence in Beijing. As such, he led the largest Swiss diplomatic mission and consular and cooperation network abroad.
A longstanding member of the Advisory Boards of the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) and the Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF), he was calleda series of boards of University, cultural and business institutions and companies and has lectured extensively on political, economic and cultural themes.
Upon completion of his diplomatic career, he joined SICPA, a Swiss world leader in the production of security ink, security systems and traceability, as the Advisor of the Chairman for Government and Diplomatic Affairs. He is also Senior Advisor to the President of Mercuria, a Swiss Fortune 500 trading company based in Geneva and International Relations Director of MedXcell, a Swiss MedTech company.
As of 2019, he became a professor of international relations and Vice-President of the Xinrui Business School, a partner institution of the University of Zurich. He is also President of the Lemania International School in Altdorf, the Sino-Swiss Friendship Education Association and the Sino-Swiss Cultural and Economic Center. Board member of the Swiss Centers China, of CONINCO Explorers in Finance SA, Monart Co., Westminster Academy, etc. President of the Board of the Swiss Centers Foundation and Swiss Centers SA.. Chairman of Sinoglade International Consulting, a company devoted to Sino-Swiss and Sino-European business relations.

Education

Masters in Economics from the University of Geneva 、Diploma in International Relations，Doctorate in Political Science at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

Teaching

Innovation in Switzerl and China: a Race for the Better

A Quiet Achiever: the Swiss Model

Publications

• Swiss-Chinese Relations. The Golden Blossom of a Cultured Evergreen.
• Suisse-Chine: Une culture du rapprochement
• 1663 : Le Renouvellement de l’Alliance avec le Roi de France.
• L’hôtel de Besenval, siège de l’Ambassade de Suisse en France.
• L’art contemporain des Aborigènes d’Australie. 
• Whither the Euro-Atlantic Partnership?

• Aboriginal Art, An Immemorial Fountain of Youth.
• Le Mont Athos : itinéraire d’une découverte.
• La coopération au développement : certitudes et interrogations.  (Etc.)
• As well as numerous book chapters and articles, including:
• Chine : nouvelles ambitions pour une nouvelle ère.
• Aux quatre vents de l’Histoire.
• La Suisse, solidaire et solitaire sur la scène internationale et européenne.
• Is the Present Future of NATO Already History?
• Human Rights as a Fundamental Standard of Post-Conflict Rehabilitation.
• PfP, EAPC, and the PfP Consortium: Key Elements of the Euro-Atlantic Security Community.
• Ethics, Human Rights and Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Environments.
• New Challenges Facing Swiss Foreign Policy.  (Etc.)