Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is a Swiss government official who served as Chancellor of Switzerland from 2016 to 2023.

[1] Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC).

[2] Born in Muri, Aargau, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the ETH Zurich in 1987, before studying mathematics at the University of Bern.

The following year, he was named chief of staff of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, first under Pascal Couchepin, then Deiss and finally Doris Leuthard.

[3] He stood for election to succeed Corina Casanova as Chancellor of Switzerland on 9 December 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in 90 years.