Joël Mesot was born in the canton of Fribourg canton in 1964 and grew up in in Geneva.
He has been President of ETH Zurich since 2019, where he also studied and obtained his doctorate in high-temperature superconductors in 1992. He spent several years researching quantum materials in France (Institut Laue-Langevin), the USA (Argonne National Laboratory), and at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). In 2004, he became head of the neutron scattering laboratory, followed in 2008 by his election as director of the PSI and promotion to full professor at ETH Zurich.
Since taking office at ETH Zurich in 2019, Mesot has intensified policy-relevant research and deepened dialogue with political actors in Switzerland and internationally. Partnerships with the ICRC, the UN, and the founding of the Albert Einstein School of Public Policy are testament to this.
Joël Mesot is a member of various advisory boards, including the Board of Trustees of the Swiss Innovation Park and the Board of Directors of CREATE (Singapore). For his scientific achievements, he received the IBM Prize of the Swiss Physical Society (SPG) in 1995 and the Latsis Prize of ETH Zurich in 2002.
Mr. Mesot will take up his functions on 8 April 2026. This brings the membership of the ICRC Assembly to 17.
The Assembly, composed of between 15 and 25 members of Swiss nationality, is the supreme governing body of the ICRC. It exercises oversight of the institution and ensures that it carries out its mission. It defines the ICRC’s institutional strategy, adopts its doctrine and general orientations for the development of IHL, and approves the budget and accounts.
