Caroni was born 19 April 1980 in
St. Gallen, Switzerland, to Luciano Caroni and Vera Caroni (
née Caflisch), an economist. His mother is from
Grisons. He was partially raised in
Wolfhalden and
Grub, Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. His paternal grandfather, Dr. Claudio Caroni (1907-1984), an attorney and industrialist, was of
Ticinese origin from
Rancate. In 1948, he took-over the delinquent
Dornier plant in
Altenrhein and rebranded them
Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA) which manufactured
airplanes,
rail,
funiculars,
sailing boats,
trams and
road tankers. He was also a private investor and board member of several companies (most notably
Aufzüge AG, Schaffhausen and
Kuranstalten Bad Ragaz). His great-grandfather, Paul Jaberg (1878-1955), was president of
Union Bank of Switzerland and board member of several companies including
Bank in Winterthur,
Sulzer and
Saurer. He completed his
Matura at the Trogen Cantonal School and then studied
Law at the
University of Zürich and
University of Lausanne. In 2007, he was admitted to the bar and completed his
Juris Doctor in 2008 in
State Law and
International Law. Between 2008 and 2010, Caroni was personal assistant to
Federal Councilor Hans-Rudolf Merz. Between 2010 and 2012, he completed a
Master of Public Administration at
Harvard Kennedy School. == Professional career ==