Ruth Dreifuss (born 9 January 1940) is a Swiss economist, unionist and politician who served as a member of the Federal Council (Switzerland) from 1993 to 2002.

[9][10] In 1945, the family relocated to Geneva, where Dreifuss attended École de Sécheron, since 1947.

After the resignation of René Felber from the Swiss Federal Council, a member of the Social Democratic Party was supposed to be elected, according to the unofficial "magic formula" used to determine the representation of the Swiss parties at the Federal Council.

A new election was organized on 10 March 1993, and the Social Democratic Party presented both Ruth Dreifuss and Christiane Brunner as the two official candidates.

Ruth Dreifuss held the Federal Department of Home Affairs until her resignation on 31 December 2002.

She won several referendums, including a revision of the Health Insurance Bill, the 10th revision of the social security system, a drug policy based on prevention, therapy, help and rehabilitation, and a new law regarding the film industry and its development.