Spühler, Willy

Spühler, Willy

(vĭl`ē shpü`lər), 1902–90, Swiss political leader and economist. A Social Democrat, He held several government economic posts and served (1938–59) in the federal assembly. In 1959 he was elected to the federal council, the Swiss executive branch, and served as minister of posts and railways (1960–62), as minister of transport, communications, and power (1963–65) and as minister of foreign affairs (1966–70). He also served two one-year terms (1963, 1968) as president of Switzerland.