Peru–Switzerland relations refers to the bilateral relations between Peru and Switzerland. Both countries established consular relations in 1876[1] and made them official in 1884, and relations have been maintained since.[2] A Swiss consulate opened in Lima in 1884, being transformed into a consulate general in 1931, before being elevated to the rank of legation in 1946 and embassy in 1957. During World War II, Switzerland represented Peruvian interests in Germany, Italy and France, at the same time representing those of the latter in Peru.[3][4][5]
History
The first Swiss arrived to Peru in the mid 19th century.[6] One notable example was naturalistJohann Jakob von Tschudi, who wrote Peruvian antiquities, a book in which he recorded various aspects of Peruvian life and history.[7] During his travels, he also studied the skull angles of Peruvians using the angles of Camper.[8]
Another influential individual was Italian Swiss businessman and philanthropist Severino Marcionelli (Bironico, 1869 – Lima, 1957), who emigrated from Ticino[9][10] to Peru in 1890.[11] Marcionelli was a mining entrepreneur who owned mines in southern Peru, had previously participated in the construction of the high-altitude Galera railway tunnel in Ticlio, and had also ventured into the country's agricultural sector.[9][11] He also helped establish and was an important member of local organizations, such as the Club de la Unión or the Peruvian chapter of Pro Ticino, a diaspora organization for Ticinese Swiss in Peru, becoming an important member of the diaspora.[10][12][13]
Marcionelli, alongside his business partner, José Di Luka Hanza Pericevic, originally from Cannosa, Dalmatia,[14] purchased a terrain in the historic centre of Lima, near San Martín Plaza. A building named after him[9] was built in the site in the 1920s, originally houseing Marcionelli's mining company's offices.[9] Marcionelli himself served as honorary consul as the building also began to house the Consulate general of Switzerland in Lima until the late 1940s, when the consulate was elevated to a legation.[9][10][12][15] The current location of the Swiss embassy in Lima also belonged to him.[13] The 3-story building was ultimately destroyed in 2023 by a fire during a series of protests in its immediate surroundings.[16][9]
In 1993, Switzerland annulled Peru's foreign debt.[17]
A Swiss–Peruvian clinic started its operations on September 3, 2007.[18]
In 2013, the 120th anniversary of the establishment of relations was celebrated,[1] as well as in 2014.[19]
Trade
Switzerland founded a chamber of commerce in Peru on September 24, 1979, which has approximately 170 associates between companies and individuals.[20]
^Peruvian antiquities, by Johann Jakob von Tschudi and Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustáriz, translation by Francis L Hawkes, A.S. Barnes & Co., Cincinnati, 1855
