Christian Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger was born 11 November 1959 in Zürich, Switzerland to Austrian-born Franz Schwarzenegger (1931–2016), a toolmaker and musician who later turned engineer and Hilde Schwarzenegger, born Weitzer (1935-2015).

He studied law at the University of Zurich, where he graduated with a licentiate degree (lic.iur.). He then obtained his doctorate in 1992 with a dissertation on public attitudes to crime and crime control^[2] under the supervision of Günther Kaiser (de) and was admitted to the bar of the Canton of Schaffhausen in 1993. He completed his habilitation in 2008 in the fields of criminal law, criminal procedural law and criminology.

From 1994 to 1999, Schwarzenegger taught as Assistant Professor of European law, comparative law, criminal law and criminology at Niigata University and Aichi University in Japan. In 1999 he returned to Zurich, where he was appointed one of the first assistant professors under a tenure-track model at the University of Zurich.^[3] Since 2010 he is full professor of criminal law, criminal procedure and criminology at the University of Zurich. From 2012 to 2014 he served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, and since 2014 he has been Vice President and member of the Executive Board of the University of Zurich. He is currently in charge of Faculty Affairs and Scientific Information. From 2014 to 2020, he was responsible for the University's international relations, for which he implemented the first internationalisation strategy and established strategic partnerships with Kyoto University and the University of Queensland.^[3]

A major reform project during his tenure was the reorganisation of the University of Zurich’s library system. Previously decentralised faculty collections were consolidated into a centralised structure, accompanied by the expansion of digital services and the promotion of Open Science and Open Access policies.^[3]

In 2018, the Schwarzenegger Institute signed an agreement to build a coalition with the Regions of Climate Action R20 (now: Catalytic) and University of Zurich to promote sustainable finance. The partners aim at transforming global markets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement based on scientific evidence.^[4]

After twelve years as Vice President, Schwarzenegger is scheduled to step down on 31 July 2026. From August 2026, he is to assume the position of Provost of Universitas 21, where he will be responsible for the strategic development and operational coordination of the international network of research-intensive universities.^[3]

On 3 November 2024, the Government of Japan conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon to Schwarzenegger for his contributions to the academic exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and Switzerland.^[5][6]