From Versailles (1919) to Locarno (1925)

ORGANIZER: Società Storica Locarnese.

Locarno. Palazzo Marcacci.

Wednesday, 1 October 2025, 6:00 pm.

Admission: free.

• Locarnese Historical Society website

From the immediate postwar period to the Locarno Treaties, Swiss diplomacy entered a new international arena. Bern had to respond swiftly: first to the new international order and the organization created by the victors of World War I at Versailles (1919), working to avoid isolation. This was followed by Swiss membership and active participation in the League of Nations, aimed at preserving Swiss neutrality and securing recognition of a differentiated neutrality by other powers. Additionally, Switzerland supported the establishment of Geneva as the new center of international diplomacy, a development backed by the Swiss population.

Key challenges included reorganizing the network of diplomatic representations abroad and managing the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, particularly for Giuseppe Motta, who served as permanent head from 1920 until his death. Switzerland also faced diplomatic difficulties with neighboring countries such as France, Austria, and Italy - especially from 1922 onwards due to issues linked to the rise of the fascist regime - as well as with Bolshevik Russia, which at times displayed open hostility. Conversely, normalization of relations with the Holy See was achieved in 1920.

Claude Altermatt

Born in 1957 in Solothurn, he attended school in Köniz (BE) and studied history, economics, and international relations at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg, as well as at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IUHEI) in Geneva. He earned his doctorate in history with a thesis titled Les débuts de la diplomatie professionnelle en Suisse (“The Beginnings of Professional Diplomacy in Switzerland”). He contributed to the publication of Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland (DDS).

In 1987, he joined the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE). His postings included missions in Prague and Paris, participation in the Task Force Switzerland-World War II, and service in Tel Aviv. He later served as ambassador to Cameroon and then to Belarus. He retired in 2022.