Former State Secretary for Migration and Director of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in the Federal Department of Justice and Police (2012-2021), studied law at the University of Bern. Worked for various non-governmental organisations in the field of migration and refugee law, including as head of the legal service of Caritas Switzerland (1990-2001).

2001 Executive Secretary of the Federal Commission for Foreigners in the Swiss Federal Administration. 2003 Vice Director and 2010 Deputy Director of the Federal Office for Foreigners’ Affairs and the Federal Office for Migration (FOM) respectively, from November 2011 Head of the Federal Office, from January 2012 as Director.

Since 2015, State Secretary and Head of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), designing and implementing the comprehensive asylum reform to speed up the asylum procedure. Since 2001, development of integration support for foreigners at federal level. Head of the Swiss delegation to the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU from 2009 to 2016. In 2015 and 2016, Swiss chair of the Conference of Directors General of European States responsible for migration issues (GDISC). Representation of Switzerland in the Steering Group of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development ICMPD, in 2020 as Chair.

Lecturer in migration law at the Lucerne School of Social Work (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) from 1994 to 2009. Scientific publications in asylum and foreigners law as well as in international refugee law in national and international journals.