Ambassador Sandra Lendenmann Winterberg currently serves as the Deputy Director within the Directorate of International Law (DIL) at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).
In this role, she presides over the Division responsible for Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Counterterrorism Coordination, and Diplomatic and Consular Law.
Since joining the FDFA in 2009, her diplomatic career has allowed her to cover various functions both within Switzerland and abroad. Among her notable positions, she led Switzerland’s Human Rights Policy Office within the Peace and Human Rights Division, where her team played a key role in shaping the country's bilateral and multilateral human rights policies, and represented Switzerland in critical negotiations related to the international Arms Trade Treaty. She served as the Legal advisor to the Swiss Mission to the European Union in Brussels, offering her legal expertise and counsel in European affairs and handled bilateral matters related to the free movement of persons, energy, research and innovation as Deputy Head of the Europe Division. Her diplomatic training took her to the Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka and the Office of the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Sandra is a distinguished graduate with a law degree from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She is a member of the Bar Association of the Canton of Zurich and previously worked as an attorney specializing in dispute resolution and international trade matters at one of Switzerland's prominent business law firms.