It is with great sadness that we pay tribute to our dear Michel. I had the good fortune and privilege of knowing him for over 50 years, dating back to when we studied together at the Institute in the 1980s. He was a brilliant, daring student, appreciated by his classmates, his teachers, and by the Director of the Institute at the time, Jacques Freymond.

When Michel finished his studies and embarked on a rich and varied professional career, he was unanimously elected President of the Institute's Alumnae·i Association for several terms. Later, he served as a long-standing member of the Institute's Foundation Council.

A man of remarkable open-mindedness, he also possessed a great sense of humour and wit that brightened the lives of all those who knew him. His deep voice, sharp mind, and imposing stature made him a monument of generosity and openness. Whether in the cafeteria, the library, or in class, Michel was always loved and sought after by students from diverse backgrounds.

At that time, International Geneva and the Institute, its intellectual arm, contributed substantially to developing East-West dialogue and initiating North-South dialogue. Michel was at the forefront of these efforts. Without distinction or prejudice, he was an accessible and influential interlocutor for the world's elites and future leaders of countries often in conflict.

Throughout the world, Michel had friends to whom he listened and convinced. His involvement at the highest level in the ICRC's work on highly complex cases such as that of Zerka proved that he was not only a skilled negotiator and mediator, but above all that he knew how to win the trust of those he was dealing with.

In these times, when winds of madness and brutality are blowing across the world, disrupting the role and mission of Switzerland and especially those of International Geneva, the absence of men like Michel Barde is sorely felt. 

May he rest in peace.

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This text was originally published in French, on the Alumnae·i portal. 

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