Arno Wicki

Assistant Director General, Ambassador, Head of Asia - Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Division

Portrait of Arno Wicki
Portrait of Arno Wicki © SDC

Arno Wicki is Assistant Director General of the SDC and Head of the Asia - Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Division. He grew up in Grosswangen and obtained his baccalaureate at the upper secondary level school in Sursee. Mr Wicki earned a licentiate degree in political science from the University of Lausanne and a Master's degree in international relations in the United States and Spain. He began his professional career at the United Nations in New York and Haiti. In 1996, he joined the FDFA, with postings in Bern, Madrid and Geneva. In 2003, he was transferred to the Swiss embassy in Washington, where he served as counsellor for trade and Latin America. He left the FDFA to join Zurich Insurance Group, where he headed government and industry affairs for Europe from 2007. In 2013, he joined the SDC, where he served as head of the Multilateral Humanitarian Aid Division and deputy head of Swiss Humanitarian Aid. From 2018 to 2022, Mr Wicki was Switzerland's ambassador to Chile. He is married and has three children.