Governance
of the Fondation suisse

Tell us about your background and your arrival at the Cité internationale.

 After studying Islamology, sociology and English at the University of Berne (Switzerland), I taught for several years at the Institut d’études islamiques at the same establishment, all whilst pursuing my doctorate. I carried out research trips to Cairo as a part of this. After obtaining my degree, I benefitted from a “politics and science” scholarship which allowed me to work for the Swiss Federal Government. Between 2011 and 2015 I occupied the role of scientific councillor, then deputy head at the division of international relations for the State Secretary regarding training, research and innovation of the Swiss Confederation.

What do you think it is that makes the Cité internationale a unique campus in the world?

Coming from a multinational company and passionate about languages and travel, as well as being sensitive to questions about migration and peace, cultural diversity and the promotion of tolerance was particularly close to my heart. The Cité internationale seemed to me like the ideal place to live and experience diversity by encouraging, through exchanges between residents, the creation of a respectful environment in line with the Cité internationale’s founding values.

Tania Cavassini has been Swiss Ambassador to the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco since January 2025. She has almost 35 years’ professional experience in the public and private sectors.

Before joining Paris, from 2019 to 2024 she headed the Resources Directorate of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), which is responsible for staff recruitment and development, the management and steering of financial resources, the FDFA’s IT infrastructure and logistics. The FDFA employs 5,500 full-time equivalents in Switzerland and in 170 diplomatic representations around the world, and has a budget of three billion Swiss francs.

Tania Cavassini is a Fellow of Harvard University, Cambridge, USA (2012-2013). She holds a teaching diploma from the Conservatoire de musique de Lausanne (1988) and a law degree from the University of Lausanne (1989). She continued her training in business management at IMD (2006/2011). She is a certified coach with the Actor’s Institute, New York (TheTAIGroup) (2010).

She was a founding member of the Board of HERE-Geneva (2014), a think-tank active in the humanitarian field, and an advisor to the Women’s Brain Foundation (2017). She set up the consultancy Forestay River Consulting (2012).