joseph deiss (born january 18, 1946) is a swiss politician. he is a member of the christian democratic people's party (cvp/pdc). he was a member of the swiss federal council from 1999 to 2006, heading first the federal department of foreign affairs (1999–2002) and then the federal department of economic affairs (2003–2006). he was elected president of the united nations general assembly for its 65th session in 2010.