Flavio Cotti was a Swiss politician who served as member of the Federal Council from 1986 to 1999. He was a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party from the canton of Ticino. In the 1990s, Cotti led the Swiss government's unsuccessful attempts to further Switzerland's political integration into the European Union. He was President of the Confederation in 1991 and 1998 and headed the departments of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte. Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte and Dreizehn Orte.
The Council of States is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, and the lower house being the National Council. It comprises 46 members.
Binningen is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. It is nestled in a valley, on a plateau, and on two hills overlooking the city of Basel.
Bruno Hunziker was a Swiss attorney, politician, and member of the Aargau canton and Swiss federal parliaments.
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.
Switzerland, a country which has long held a stance of neutrality in its relations with other nations, has not been immune to the movement of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. Prior to the 20th century, sodomy and other types of sexual intercourse between people of the same sex was held in various levels of legal contempt. Today, the modern LGBT rights movement in Switzerland is related to the larger international movement which developed largely after 1969.
Bernhard Hess is a Swiss politician from the canton of Bern. He was the president of the Swiss Democrats from 2005 to 2012 and was a member of the National Council from 5 December 1999 to 1 December 2007.
Sibel Arslan is a Turkish-born Swiss lawyer and politician who currently serves on the National Council (Switzerland) for the movement BastA!. There she concurrently also is a representative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 2020. She previously served on the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt between 2005 and 2016.
Albert Rösti is a Swiss businessman, lobbyist and politician who has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1 January 2023. He previously presided over the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) from 2016 to 2020 and served as a member of the National Council for the canton of Bern from 2011 until 2022. Rösti resides in Uetendorf near Thun.
Rudolf "Ruedi" Noser is a Swiss businessman and politician who served on the Council of States (Switzerland) for The Liberals from 2015 to 2023. He previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) from 2003 to 2015.
Conradin Cramer is a Swiss politician. He has been a member of the cantonal government of Basel-Stadt since 8 February 2017.
Mustafa Atici is a Turkish-born Swiss businessman and politician who currently serves as member of the Executive Council of Basel-Stadt since 2024 for the Social Democratic Party. He previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) from 2019 to 2023 and on the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt from 2005 to 2019.
Beat Jans is a Swiss environmental scientist and politician who currently serves as a member of the Federal Council, after being elected in 2023 to succeed Alain Berset, assuming office on 1 January 2024. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served on the National Council from 2010 to 2020, and president of the Executive Council of Basel-Stadt from 2021 to 2023.
Eva Herzog is a Swiss politician who has represented Basel-Stadt in the Council of States since 2019 and has served as the President of the Council since 2023. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS).
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 22 October 2023 to elect all members of the National Council and Council of States. The elections were followed by elections to the Federal Council, Switzerland's government and collegial presidency, on 13 December.
Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter is a Swiss jurist and politician of The Centre.
Eric Nussbaumer is a politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) and member of the National Council, the lower chamber of the Swiss Parliament. He is the current President of the National Council.
Thomas Jan de Courten is a Swiss businessman and politician. He currently serves as a member of the National Council for the Swiss People's Party (SVP) since 5 December 2011. Between 2003 and 2011, he served in the Cantonal Council of Basel-Landschaft, and as the congressional president for his party since 2007. He was also the president of the national economy and health commissions respectively.
