Board Members
H.E. Ambassador Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann
Permanent Observer of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the United Nations in Geneva
Vice-President of the Caritas in Veritate Foundation
Born in Vienna, Austria, Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann completed her secondary education in Germany, followed by language studies in Fribourg (Switzerland), London and Vienna before joining the United Nations Office at Geneva in 1970 as an international civil servant. Following an assignment in the Division of Administration she served the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1974 to 1983. During this period she took on field missions to Africa and Central America and was entrusted in the Division of Protection with the reunification of refugee families, in particular those originating from Eastern Europe.
From 1984 to 1994 Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann accompanied her husband, François-Charles Pictet, on his assignments as Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Holy See. In 1995 she joined the diplomatic service of the Sovereign Order of Malta where she has since served as First Counsellor, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Observer and since 2005 as Ambassador and Permanent Observer to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
In 1999 Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann founded the Diplomatic Spouses' Circle, now the International Circle of Geneva, which she served as President until 2009. She was also Vice-President of the Geneva Diplomatic Club and serves on its committee. Since 2005 she is a member of the Board of the EORTC Charitable Trust (European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels) and since 2013 the President of the Board of the Geneva Association of Friends of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. In 2002 she was awarded the Order of Malta's Cross pro Merito Melitensi with Crown.