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About
Nicoletta della Valle is a former Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), who served until her resignation on January 31, 2025. Born in Bern, Switzerland, to an Italian immigrant father and a Swiss mother, she was taught boxing by her father and later attained a brown belt in judo while training in kickboxing between ages 40 and 45 (ca. 2001-2006). She holds a law degree (magna cum laude) from the University of Bern. Her early career included roles as a forestry police officer and in administrative positions at the Federal Office for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (BUWAL), followed by serving as Deputy Director of the Finance Directorate of the City of Bern (1996-1999). In 1999, she joined the Federal Department of Justice and Police, contributing to the establishment of the national DNA database in 2000. She advanced to Deputy Director of Fedpol (2006-2011) and then Director of Services and Operations (2012-July 2014), during which she also served as interim co-chair of the University Psychiatric Services Bern. As Fedpol Director, she implemented the Kaizen philosophy for continuous improvement. She is divorced, has one adult daughter, and resides in Bern. Post-resignation, she received a 340,000 CHF severance package, which drew criticism from parliamentarians. She opened Caffè Bar Sempre Berna as CEO of Sempre Berna GmbH and briefly served on the advisory board of Champel Capital (an Israeli-Swiss investment fund) from September to October 2025 before resigning amid conflict-of-interest concerns, despite a cooling-off period waiver by Beat Jans; this led to her disinvitation from delivering the 2026 graduation speech at the University of Bern. Her professional profile is available on LinkedIn (https://ch.linkedin.com/in/nicoletta-della-valle-0841b988). Notable controversies include her 2025 order for the retroactive entry ban, arrest, and expulsion of Palestinian-American journalist Ali Abunimah—deemed an abuse of power by the Zurich Administrative Court, a parliamentary audit, and a subsequent probe revealing irregularities; Abunimah filed criminal charges in January 2026 alleging office abuse. The severance payment and Champel Capital ties also faced significant scrutiny.