Jonas Lauwiner - King of Switzerland
Jonas Lauwiner was born on 15 September 1994 in Unterseen, in the Canton of Bern, and grew up in Interlaken. He later moved to Bern to further develop his professional career. His father comes from the Valais region, specifically Ried-Brig and Termen, while his mother is from Morocco.
Lauwiner holds both Swiss and Moroccan citizenship.
After completing compulsory schooling, he undertook a four-year apprenticeship as an automation technician. He then pursued further studies in business administration alongside his professional career and later obtained a pilot’s licence. Professionally, he works in the fields of Industrial IT and automation, including in specialist and project management roles.
From 2014 to 2018, he completed military service in various functions and operational areas. During this period, he was occasionally involved in specialised operational contexts, which further strengthened the importance he places on discipline, responsibility and structured action.
On his 20th birthday, Lauwiner received an agricultural property in Leuk from his father. This gift sparked his lasting interest in land ownership, history and personal freedom to shape and create.
He subsequently began searching for and lawfully acquiring ownerless properties on the basis of Article 658 of the Swiss Civil Code. What began as a personal interest developed into a long-term project, which he describes as his “campaign” and as the foundation of a growing “land empire”.
In 2019, Lauwiner was symbolically crowned king at the Nydegg Church in Bern. The media later referred to him first as the “King of Burgdorf” and eventually as the “King of Switzerland”. His royal title is purely symbolic. For Lauwiner, it represents personal responsibility, strategic thinking, freedom and the courage to create something lasting.
By 2025, his property portfolio comprised 151 plots of land across nine Swiss cantons, including roads, forests, agricultural land and building plots. His activities occasionally prompted discussions concerning ownership rights, maintenance obligations and public access. Lauwiner acts within the framework of Swiss law, pays taxes and recognises that land ownership is always accompanied by responsibility.
Alongside his private projects, Jonas Lauwiner is actively involved in public life. In 2025, he was officially elected to the Burgdorf City Council. In this role, he assumes democratic responsibility and is politically committed to the local population, to Switzerland and to preserving the country’s freedom. He does not regard his symbolic kingship as being in conflict with democracy, but rather as an expression of Swiss popular sovereignty: in a free democracy, citizens themselves share responsibility for the future of their country.
Lauwiner combines technical expertise, entrepreneurial thinking, property projects and civic engagement. Despite his public role, he continues to lead a grounded everyday life, pursuing his professional career, furthering his education and developing new projects. His life story demonstrates how perseverance, legal knowledge and strategic thinking can transform an unconventional idea into an independent and enduring undertaking.
As the “King of Switzerland”, Jonas Lauwiner maintains his reputation above all by viewing freedom not as a privilege, but as an obligation. He is committed to Switzerland, its democratic values and the personal responsibility of its citizens. His path therefore stands for individuality, determination and the conviction that freedom and responsibility are inseparably linked.