Cornelio Sommaruga (29 December 1932 – 18 February 2024) was a Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat who is best known for having been President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1987 to 1999.

He was Chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation For the Future, an organization dedicated to promoting human rights in the Middle East and North Africa,[1] and the honorary President of Initiatives of Change International,[2] a global organization dedicated to "building trust across the world's divides"[3] of culture, nationality, belief, and background.

Cornelio Sommaruga was born in Rome, Italy, where his father had a professional activity as a commercial lawyer and was stationed during World War II at the Swiss embassy responsible for foreign interests.

From there, he returned to Bern where he held senior posts at the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss government, among others, as Ambassador, Delegate for Trade Agreements.

From 1984 to 1987, he was Undersecretary of State at the Office of Foreign Economic Affairs, a job he left when he was nominated to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1986.

As head of this international movement working to build bridges of trust across the world's divides, he was able to support peace and reconciliation initiatives in Africa's Great Lakes region and in Sierra Leone.