Tilo Frey

Who was Tilo Frey?

Tilo Frey was a Swiss politician. Frey was the daughter of a Swiss father, Paul Frey of Brugg, and a Fula mother, Fatimatou Bibabadama. She was educated as a teacher and taught business classes at the Ecole de commerce of Neuchâtel in 1972-1976. From 1976 to 1984, she was director of the Ecole professionnelle de jeunes filles.

In 1969, she was elected as the first woman to cantonal parliament of Neuchâtel. She served as a Swiss National Councillor for the PRD of the canton of Neuchâtel from 1971 to 1975. She was one of ten women elected in the first Swiss national elections with the participation of women. She was the first person of African ancestry to be elected to the national council. The context of her election was the recently granted women's suffrage in Switzerland, and the xenophobic campaign led by James Schwarzenbach.