With great sadness, I regret to inform you that our dear friend and sponsor Hans Heiner Zaeslin has passed away on April 27th, 2023, in the age of 94. He died after a short illness, following his beloved wife, Claudine Zaeslin-Bustany, who passed away in November 2022.

Hans Heiner Zaeslin, was born in into an old Basel family in 1929. After an apprenticeship in banking and several years in the USA, he joined the treasury of SANDOZ AG in 1954 and eventually became the head and thus director of it.

For many decades, he and his late wife Claudine Zaeslin-Bustany supported the University of Basel. He was particularly interested in the exchange with the United States. Thanks to his engagement, the Summer School program was founded more than 20 years. Since then, he supported the program very generously.

In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel for his commitment and support. Furthermore, he supported teaching and scientific exchange in medicine and a research project on innovation in Switzerland and the USA in economics. In 2020, he also donated the "Zaeslin Guest House" for international guest researchers and their families.

We will always treasure Hans Heiner Zaeslin’s memory and are deeply grateful to him for extraordinary commitment over many years and will always honor his memory.

Rolf Weder
Professor of International Trade and European Integration
Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics
Chairman of the Summer School Executive Committee