Ambassador Sabrina Dallafior appointed Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Bern, 27.11.2025 — On 27 November 2025, the Conference of the States Parties to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) appointed Ambassador Sabrina Dallafior as Director-General. She will take up her new post on 25 July 2026. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) supported Sabrina Dallafior's candidacy and welcomes her appointment as the new OPCW Director-General.
The Conference of the States Parties to the OPCW, which convenes on an annual basis, has agreed by consensus to appoint Sabrina Dallafior as Director-General. This is the first time that the post will be held by a Swiss national and by a woman.
The appointment was made on the basis of a recommendation by the Executive Council of the OPCW and its 41 member states. At the beginning of October, the Executive Council agreed by consensus to put Sabrina Dallafior forward for the appointment, selecting from a list of 11 candidates.
Sabrina Dallafior, who has been appointed for a four-year term, will be responsible for the operational and strategic management of the OPCW Technical Secretariat based in The Hague. The Technical Secretariat assists OPCW member states in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The OPCW, which Switzerland joined in 1997, is responsible for implementing the CWC. The CWC prohibits the development, production, acquisition and use of chemical weapons. It covers four core areas: destroying and verifying all declared chemical weapons, providing assistance, ensuring protection against chemical weapons, and fostering international cooperation. In 2013, the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work. The head of the FDFA, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, congratulates Sabrina Dallafior on her appointment and wishes her every success in her new role.
The appointment of Ambassador Sabrina Dallafior shows the high regard in which Switzerland is held for its work under the CWC, which includes investigating alleged uses of chemical weapons. Switzerland's Spiez Laboratory is also an internationally recognised centre of excellence and a designated OPCW laboratory.
Since 2023, Ambassador Sabrina Dallafior has headed the Swiss embassy in Finland. Prior to acting as consul general in Milan between 2019 and 2023, she served a four-year term as Switzerland's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.