View source for Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin

{{Short description|Swiss politician}}{{Infobox officeholder
| birth_place         = [[Auvernier]], [[Neuchâtel]], Switzerland
| party               = [[The Liberals (Switzerland)|FDP.The Liberals]]
| occupation          = Accountant, estate manager
| office              = Member of the Neuchâtel Town Council
| term_start          = 2016
}}
'''Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin''' is a Swiss politician, accountant, and estate manager. She served as the president of the [[Canton of Neuchâtel]]'s branch of [[The Liberals (Switzerland)|FDP.The Liberals]] from 2009 to 2011. Since 2016, Blétry-de Montmollin has served on the [[Neuchâtel]] Town Council and held the offices of Vice President and President.
== Biography ==
Blétry-de Montmollin was born in [[Auvernier]], [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]] into a family of [[Swiss nobility]], and grew up on her family's vineyard there.<ref name= letemps>{{Cite web|url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/violaine-bletryde-montmollin-fille-terroir-campagne-ville|title=Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin, la fille du terroir qui fait campagne en ville|date=October 20, 2016|via=www.letemps.ch}}</ref> She is the daughter of Pierre de Montmollin, a winemaker and politician who served as the president of the [[Grand Council of Neuchâtel]].<ref name= letemps/>
She was active in commune life while a student, and served as a class delegate at her school.<ref name= letemps/> She graduated with a degree in economics and became a liberal politician at the age of 25.<ref name= letemps/> She left the family business of wine making, and worked in finance as a fiduciary and later as an accountant.<ref name= letemps/> She left Neuchâtel and moved to [[New York City]] with her husband, who is from [[Canton of Jura|Jura]], and lived there for a year.<ref name= letemps/> They returned to Switzerland in 2005, where she gave birth to two children.<ref name= letemps/>
She co-managed her family's estate and winery in Auvernier for six years.<ref name= letemps/> In 2008, when the [[Liberal Party of Switzerland]] and the [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland]] merged to form [[FDP.The Liberals]], Blétry-de Montmollin worked to manage relations between opposing sides within the new party.<ref name= letemps/> While serving as a member of the Grand Council of Neuchâtel, she became president of the Neuchâtel branch of the party when they were elected to the majority of the Council of State in 2009.<ref name= letemps/> During her presidency, the party was able to elect [[Didier Burkhalter]] to the [[Federal Council (Switzerland)|Federal Council]] and [[Raphaël Comte]] to the [[Council of States (Switzerland)|Council of States]].<ref name= letemps/> She also managed disagreements within the cantonal government and led the party through the political scandal and resignation of [[Frédéric Hainard]].<ref name= letemps/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Werlé |first=Christine |date=April 21, 2011 |title=Epilogue de l'"affaire Hainard" à Neuchâtel |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/politique/epilogue-de-l--affaire-hainard--%C3%A0-neuch%C3%A2tel/30055174 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch}}</ref>
In 2010 she was appointed as the secretary general of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in Neuchâtel.<ref name= saen>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saen.ch/article/violaine_bletry_de_montmollin_nouvelle_secretaire_generale_du_decs|title=Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin nouvelle secrétaire générale du DECS|website=SAEN}}</ref> Within her new position as a civil servant, she stepped down as president of the party in [[Neuchâtel]].<ref name= letemps/><ref name= saen/> She later served on the town council and was a member of the Department of Territorial Development, Economy, Tourism and Built Heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux Commune de Neuchâtel - Conseil communal |url=https://www.plrneuchatel.ch/personnes/conseil-communal |website=PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux Commune de Neuchâtel}}</ref> In 2016 she was elected to the town council,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-11-27 |title=Neuchâtel : Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin entre au Conseil communal |url=https://www.rtn.ch/rtn/Actualite/Region/20161127-Neuchatel-Violaine-Bletry-de-Montmollin-entre-au-Conseil-communal.html |website=www.rtn.ch}}</ref> and later served as the Vice President of the town council.<ref name= lions>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lionsclubs.ch/de/district-west/news/brillante-conference-de-violaine-bletry-de-montmollin|title=Brillante conférence de Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin|website=www.lionsclubs.ch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canalalpha.ch/play/le-journal/topic/17050/linvitee-violaine-bletry-de-montmollin-et-la-fusion|title=L'invitée: Violaine Blétry-de Montmollin et la fusion - Canal Alpha|date=December 11, 2019|website=canalalpha.ch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arcinfo.ch/neuchatel-canton/littoral/neuchatel-commune/peseux/neuchatel-la-fusion-sest-faite-en-douceur-1041491|title=Neuchâtel: "La fusion s'est faite en douceur"|work=[[ArcInfo (newspaper)|ArcInfo]]}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century Swiss women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Swiss politicians]]
[[Category:FDP.The Liberals politicians]]
[[Category:De Montmollin family|Violaine]]
[[Category:Swiss city councillors]]
[[Category:Swiss civil servants]]
[[Category:Swiss women civil servants]]
[[Category:Swiss nobility]]
[[Category:21st-century Swiss businesspeople]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]