Aebi was born in Burgdorf, in the Emmental region of the Canton of Bern. He is a farmer by profession and also works as an auctioneer.[1]
From 1999 to 2020, he was on the board of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Schweizerischer Rinderzüchter, the Association of Cattle Breeders. He led the association from 2014 to 2020.[2] In 2018, he joined the board of directors of Lüthi & Portmann Fleischwaren AG, one of the largest meat processors in Switzerland.[3]
He entered politics in 1998 as the president of the municipality of Alchenstorf. In 2007, he was elected to the National Council as a member of the Swiss People’s Party. In the National Council, he has been on the Committee for Foreign Affairs and the delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.[1]
In 2008, the Bern SVP nominated for a seat on the Federal Council to succeed Samuel Schmid, who resigned. At the time, he was not viewed as a serious contender, but was placed into nomination as a representative of agricultural interests in the party.[4] The Federal Council seat ultimately went to Ueli Maurer, the former SVP chairman.[5]
In 2007, left his role as a municipal executive and became the SVP party president the following year.
In the 2019 election, Heinz Brand, the council’s Second Vice President, was defeated for re-election. As Second Vice President, he would have been the successor to Isabelle Moret as First Vice President upon her election as National Council President.[6] To replace Brand in the role, the SVP nominated Aebi over Thomas Hurter and Christian Imark.[7] The National Council elected him to the post with 187 of 191 votes.[8] Aebi is now first in line to become the National Council President in 2020.[7]
