Bettina Balmer is a specialist in pediatric surgery. She studied medicine in Basel, completed her state examination in 1991, and obtained her doctorate. Her postgraduate training took her to various hospitals in Switzerland and abroad, with a particular focus on pediatric neurosurgery until 2010. She currently works as a senior physician on an interdisciplinary pediatric emergency ward in a 50% position. Alongside her clinical career, she has been active in politics, serving for ten years as a member of the Cantonal Council of Zurich for the FDP. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Swiss National Council for the FDP Zurich, and since 2025 she has served as President of FDP Women Switzerland. She is married to a physician and has three adult children.