Christoph Graf

Graf was born in Pfaffnau, in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. He joined the Swiss Guard in 1987.^{[citation needed]} In August 1999 he was promoted to sergeant, and later in 2000 he was promoted to sergeant-major, a position in which he remained until April 2009 when he was promoted to second captain.^[1] In October 2010, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and vice commander of the guard, where he acted as a chief of staff and senior adviser to the commander.^[2]

In late 2014, it was announced that Anrig would leave the position of commander after seven years of service. On 7 February 2015, Pope Francis appointed Graf as the new commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.^[3]