Silvia Steiner, President

"The University of Zurich is a beacon in national and international higher education, and our canton can be proud of the University’s practiced excellence. As President of the Board of the University and as Minister of Education, I am committed to further strengthening Zurich as a place of higher learning. Research and scholarship provide the foundation for innovation. Or, phrased differently: Our society and economy rely on impulses from universities in order to develop positively and to find the best answers to today’s pressing questions."

2005–2015 public prosecutor, head of division (specialist and lead attorney in the area of human trafficking). 2004 doctorate in criminology at the University of Lausanne. 2002–2005 head of criminal investigations, police department Zug. 1995–2002 police officer, head of criminal investigations, city police Zurich. 1988–1995 regional prosecutor. 1984–1988 auditor and clerk of court. 1984 degree in law at the University of Zurich.

2007–2015 member of Parliament of the Canton of Zurich (member of the following committees: Justice, economics and labor, parliamentary investigation committee). 1986–1998 member of the district school board.

Born on 14 March 1958, grew up and lives in Zurich (Oerlikon), widowed, two adult children.