Elmar Mäder

Elmar Theodor Mäder (born 28 July 1963) was the thirty-third Commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guards.

He studied at the Hochschule in St. Gallen and at the University of Freiburg before entering the Swiss Army where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant in the Air Defense Troops.

He entered the Papal Swiss Guards in 1998 and was named commandant in 2002, succeeding Pius Segmüller.

[citation needed] Mäder made headlines when he said that there was no plan to allow women into the Swiss Guards.

His reason was that the Guard's quarters were too small and the entry of women would lead to discipline problems.