The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since after World War II,the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand coalition government composed of representatives of the country's major parties and language regions.
Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS),she was the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs during her tenure as a Federal Councillor. She was President of the Swiss Confederation twice,in 2007 and 2011.
Joseph Deiss is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC),he first headed the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (1999–2002) before transferring to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (2003–2006). Deiss was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 65th session in 2010.
The Council of Women World Leaders,created in 1996,is a network of 83 current and former presidents and prime ministers. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to women heads of state and government. The council's Ministerial Initiative also involves current and former cabinet ministers and secretaries in the work of the council.
On December 12,2007,all seven members of the Federal Council,the government of Switzerland,were elected by the joint chambers of the Federal Assembly for the 2008–2012 term of office. Councillors are elected individually by an absolute majority of votes,with the incumbent councillors defending their seats in descending order of seniority.
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2008 to 2015. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) until 2008,she was then a member of the splinter Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) until 2021,when that party merged into The Centre. Widmer-Schlumpf was the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police from 2008 to 2010,when she became head of the Federal Department of Finance. She served as President of the Swiss Confederation in 2012.
Two by-elections to the Swiss Federal Council were held in Switzerland on 22 September 2010,after federal councillors Moritz Leuenberger (SP) and Hans-Rudolf Merz announced they would step down from the Federal Council towards the end of the year. The by-elections resulted in the elections of Simonetta Sommaruga from the SP and Johann Schneider-Ammann from the FDP,resulting in no change in the partisan composition of the council. It also resulted in the first majority of women on the Federal Council in its history,with Sommaruga joining Micheline Calmy-Rey,Doris Leuthard and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.
Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS),she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and 2020.
Johann Niklaus Schneider,known as Johann Schneider-Ammann,is a Swiss businessman and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2018. A member of FDP.The Liberals,he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2016. During his tenure as a Federal Councillor,Schneider-Ammann headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs,Education and Research.
An election for all seven members of the Federal Council,the government of Switzerland,was held on 14 December 2011,following the federal election on 23 October 2011. Micheline Calmy-Rey announced she would not run for re-election to the council. According to a traditional informal convention,the successor has to come from the French-speaking or Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. The candidates for her post announced by their respective cantonal sections are Alain Berset (Fribourg),Pierre-Yves Maillard (Vaud),Stéphane Rossini (Valais),and Marina Carobbio (Ticino).
Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote in federal elections after a referendum in February 1971. The first federal vote in which women were able to participate was the 31 October 1971 election of the Federal Assembly. However it was not until a 1990 decision by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland that women gained full voting rights in the final Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Events from 2011 in Switzerland.
Guy Bernard Parmelin is a Swiss Federal Councillor and head of the Department of Economic Affairs,Education and Research. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC),he has been a member of the Federal Council since 2016,and has led the Department of Economic Affairs,Education and Research since 2019. He previously led the Department of Defence,Civil Protection and Sports between 2016 and 2018. He served as president of Switzerland in 2021,having previously served as vice president of Switzerland in 2020.
An election for all seven members of the Federal Council,the Government of Switzerland,was held on 9 December 2015,following the federal election on 19 October 2015,for the 2016–2020 term.
Viola Patricia Amherd is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2019,and as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2024 since 1 January. She is the head of the Federal Department of Defence,Civil Protection and Sport. Amherd was a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC) before it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre (DM/LC) in 2021,which she joined.
By-elections to the Swiss Federal Council were held on 5 December 2018,after federal councillors Johann Schneider-Ammann (FDP-BE) and Doris Leuthard (CVP-AG) announced in September they would leave the Council effective 31 December of the same year.
Events during the year 2002 in Switzerland.
Events during the year 2003 in Switzerland.
Events during the year 2008 in Switzerland.
