Ruth Dreifuss is a Swiss politician and former President of the Swiss Confederation during the year 1999.

She was elected Federal Councilor (Member of the Swiss government) in 1993 by the Federal Assembly (Parliament), and was re-elected twice, serving through 2002. She was Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, the ministry responsible for public health, social insurance, scientific research, higher education, gender equality and culture, as well as the environment. As the Federal Councilor in charge of public health and social insurance, she implemented a new policy in the fields of drug addiction and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Dreifuss also worked nine years for the Swiss Agency for Development and Humanitarian Aid (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs) and became Secretary of the Swiss Labour Union Federation in 1981. In that capacity, she was responsible for sectors including social insurance, labour law, gender equality and relations with the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Dreifuss studied in Geneva where she received a degree in economics with special focus on econometrics, and is Doctor honoris causa of the Universities of Haifa, Jerusalem, Fribourg (Switzerland), Neuchâtel, and Bern.

Dreifuss is a founding member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, and is a current member of its Steering Committee, where she served as Chair from 2016 to 2020.