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Who was Ludwig Minelli? Dignitas founder who fought for ‘right-to-die’ ends life by assisted suicide
In a statement, Dignitas, the group Ludwig Minelli founded, shared that he died by voluntary assisted dying.
Founder of the Swiss right-to-die organisation Dignitas, Ludwig Minelli, died at the age of 92 by assisted suicide. In a tribute, the group said, he led a life of “life for freedom of choice, self-determination, and human rights".
What is Dignitas?
The group, which has the motto “To live with dignity. To die with dignity,” was founded by Minelli in 1998. Its official website states it is a “Swiss self-determination, autonomy and dignity group.”
In a statement, the group informed, “Passing of a pioneer and warrior Ludwig A. Minelli, founder of ‘DIGNITAS – To live with dignity – To die with dignity’, has died The membership association ‘DIGNITAS – To live with dignity – To die with dignity’ mourns the death of its founder and Secretary General Ludwig A. Minelli. Minelli died on 29 November 2025 shortly before his 93rd birthday self-determinedly by voluntary assisted dying.”
The statement continued that Minelli started his career as a journalist with a Swiss newspaper. In 1977, he started studying law and graduated in 1981.
The year he started studying law, he also founded “Swiss Society for the European Convention on Human Rights” (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für die Europäische Menschenrechtskonvention; SGEMKO).
“In 1986, Minelli, then 54 years old, was admitted to the bar of attorneys. His understanding of the law was based on the conviction that the state serves the citizen, rather than the citizen the state. He was particularly concerned with upholding and enforcing human rights as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. He always conducted his legal cases with an eye to the possibility of appealing to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if necessary,” the statement continued.
Talking about assisted suicide, the statement added, “Only a small percentage of the seriously ill people who turn to DIGNITAS apply for voluntary assisted dying, and an even smaller percentage of them actually choose to go down this path in the end. Just knowing that they have this option gives them relief and the courage to go on living."
Talking about the matter, Minelli, in a 2010 BBC interview, said, "I am persuaded that we have to struggle in order to implement the last human right in our societies. And the last human right is the right to make a decision on one's own end, and the possibility to have this end without risk and without pain.”
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