François Duchêne

Chairman of the Board

Francois Duchêne has been Chairman of the Board of the Geneva International Music Competition Foundation from 2005 to 2009 when he succeeded Richard A. Jeandin.

After a career as a lawyer and judge for nearly 20 years he left the Bar to become the Secretary-General of the Geneva Grand Theatre from 1979 to 2000.

Having developed and cultivated a passionate interest in culture and its management from an early age, he has been active at various levels of responsibility in the artistic institutions of Geneva since 1965: Le Poche, La Comédie, Les Marionnettes, the Grand Theatre and the Swiss-Romande Orchestra of which he was president from 1975 to 1979. On the national level he was Vice-President for the Union of Swiss Professional Theaters from 1986 to 1997 and a member of the Federal Commission, dealing with copyright management, from 1993 to 1996.

In parallel with these various functions, he became involved in politics as part of the Geneva Liberal Party from 1968 onwards. While serving as a town councilor from 1970 to 1976, he chaired the Municipal Commission of Fine Arts for one year.  During this time he was also Secretary-General and then Vice-President of his party.

François Duchêne, born in Geneva in 1939, is married and has two sons and a granddaughter.   A discerning music-lover and a man of the arts, he is definitely an important figure in the artistic life of Geneva.  Making full use of his active retirement, he is able to offer the young virtuosos of the Geneva International Music Competition his knowledge based on his vast experience in working with the arts in general, and music in particular.