Daniel Jositsch

Daniel Jositsch (born 25 March 1965 in Zürich) is a Swiss politician, member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP), representing the canton of Zürich in the Swiss Council of States in the legislatur periode 2016–2020.

Born in the municipality of Zürich, Jositsch grew up in the Limmat Valley and is citizen of the municipality of Geroldswil in the canton of Zürich. He studied law at the University of St. Gallen. In 2004 he qualified as a professor at the University of Zurich, and was appointed as Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal auxiliary sciences. In 2012 Jositsch was promoted by the university council to full professor.

In spring 2007 Jositsch was elected as a member of the SP Zürich in the parliament of the Canton of Zürich, and since October 2007 he was a member of the Swiss National Council. In the first round of the 2015 Council of States elections in the canton of Zürich, Jositsch won the majority, and for the first time since 32 years, a SP politician will represent the canton of Zürich in the Swiss Council of States (Ständerat).

Daniel Jositsch is divorced and father of a son born in 2004. He was in a relationship with Chantal Galladé.

The SP said on occasion of Jositsch's nomination as candidate for Ständerat that he comes from a Jewish refugee family. My great-grandfather came from Ukraine to Switzerland in the 19th century, Jositsch explained on occasion of an interview, his Jewish roots are important...I feel connected to this tradition. Although the Judaism does not define his everyday life, but as a parliamentarian I take myself to the interests of the Jewish minority. End of October 2015 Jositsch announced to stand for the five-person chairmanship of the Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zürich (ICZ), the largest Jewish community in Switzerland, on 2 December 2015. The candidacy is a private commitment without a professional or political context.