Director is dismissed, half the board resigns in protest
Bang at the Swiss Red Cross
The Swiss Red Cross is seething. Director Markus Mader is dismissed, and four out of ten board members are resigning.
Director of the Swiss Red Cross since 2008: Markus Mader.
The long-time director of the Swiss Red Cross (SRK), Markus Mader, has to go at the end of the year. According to the aid organization, he will be dismissed, among other things, because of different opinions on leadership issues.
The top management body of the organization, the Red Cross Council, decided at a meeting on Thursday to part with Mader, the SRC announced on Thursday evening. The reason is a different view in the management and organization of the SRC and the individual member organizations. The 59-year-old Mader has been the director of the aid organization since 2008.
No justification, no hearing?
The separation will take place at the end of the year, SRK media spokesman Raymond Ruch told the Keystone-SDA news agency on request. He did not provide any further information.
Of the “Daily Gazette” had previously reported online that trust issues and internal disagreements played a role in the dismissal. The medium also quoted Mader as saying that he was neither informed of the reasoning nor heard.
Deputy Director takes over
Mader had done extraordinary things as director, SRK President Barbara Schmid-Federer was quoted as saying in the message. “The Red Cross Council thanks him for his commitment and his services to the SRC.” Former Zurich Central National Councilor Schmid-Federer has presided over the Red Cross Council since June.
After the meeting of the Red Cross Council on Thursday, four members of the executive committee resigned immediately – apparently in protest against Mader’s dismissal. The six remaining members would convene a Red Cross meeting “as soon as possible” to carry out the necessary by-elections, the SRK said. The office of the aid organization will be headed by the deputy director Karolina Frischkopf until further notice.
Mader has been active for the Swiss Red Cross for over 20 years. Before his job as director, he was President of the Red Cross Cantonal Association of St. Gallen and a member of the SRK’s Audit Committee. The political scientist was a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for several years and traveled to Sri Lanka, Peru, Pakistan and Afghanistan. (SDA/noo)