The government of Switzerland is a federal state with direct democracy.
The federal chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland,the oldest Swiss federal institution,established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Council. The Chancellor is not a member of the government and the office is not at all comparable to that of the Chancellor of Germany or the Chancellor of Austria,or to the United Kingdom's Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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.
Ruth Metzler is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC),she headed the Federal Department of Justice and Police.
The National Council is the lower house of the Federal Assembly,with the upper house being the Council of States. Containing 200 seats,the National Council is the larger of the two houses.
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.
The Federal Assembly is the federal bicameral parliament of Switzerland. It comprises the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace.
Alain Berset is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2012 to 2023. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS),he headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs from when he took office. Berset served as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2018 and 2023.
Annemarie Huber-Hotz was a Swiss politician who served as the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland between 2000 and 2007. She was nominated by the FDP for the office,and elected to it on 15 December 1999. In 2011,she became President of the Swiss Red Cross and ex officio vice-president of the IFRC.
Doris Leuthard is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC),she was elected as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2010 and 2017. Leuthard headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs until 2010,when she became head of the Federal Department of Environment,Transport,Energy and Communications. As of 19 December 2019 she is a member of the board of the Kofi Annan Foundation and Stadler Rail.
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly,the federal parliament of Switzerland,were held on Sunday,21 October 2007. In a few cantons,a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November,18 November,and 25 November 2007. For the 48th legislative term of the federal parliament (2007–2011),voters in 26 cantons elected all 200 members of the National Council as well as 43 out of 46 members of the Council of States. The other three members of the Council of States for that term of service were elected at an earlier date.
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.
The Federal Chancellery of Switzerland is a department-level agency of the federal administration of Switzerland. It is the staff organisation of the federal government,the Federal Council. Since 2024,it has been headed by Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi of the Green Liberal Party of Switzerland.
Thomas Helbling is a Swiss lawyer. He held the office of Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland between 2008 and 2016,in charge of the Federal Council sector. After leaving office,he became the CEO of the Swiss Insurance Association (2017-2021).
Walter Thurnherr is a Swiss government official who served as Chancellor of Switzerland from 2016 to 2023. Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office,he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC). When it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre (DM/LC) in 2021,Thurnherr joined the new party.
The Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland was initially named Federal Secretary (Bundesschreiber). The title of the Vice-Chancellor was established in 1851,first as Federal Chancellor Deputy,then formally as Vice-Chancellor in 1881. In order to provide a balance between languages and geographical representation,it became custom since 1895 to name a second Vice-Chancellor from a French-speaking canton if both the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor were Swiss-German. The second Vice-Chancellor became a permanent position in 1967.
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.
