Lausanne is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the French town of Évian-les-Bains across the lake. Lausanne is located 62 kilometres northeast of Geneva, the nearest major city.
Jean-Pascal Delamuraz was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1983–1998).
Pascal Couchepin is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1998 to 2009. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD), he was President of the Swiss Confederation twice, in 2003 and 2008. Couchepin headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and Federal Department of Home Affairs from 2003 until 2009.
Daniel-Henri Druey was a Swiss politician of the 19th century. He was a founding father of constitutional democracy and member of the Free Democratic Party in Switzerland.
Vaud, more formally the Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolour.
During the French Revolutionary Wars, the revolutionary armies marched eastward, enveloping Switzerland in their battles against Austria. In 1798, Switzerland was completely overrun by the French and was renamed the Helvetic Republic. The Helvetic Republic encountered severe economic and political problems. In 1798 the country became a battlefield of the Revolutionary Wars, culminating in the Battles of Zürich in 1799.
The Swiss Confederation comprises the 26 cantons of Switzerland.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a Swiss multinational biopharmaceutical company specialising in areas such as reproductive health, maternal health, gastroenterology and urology. Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 years.
Léman was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, corresponding to the territory of modern Vaud. A former subject territory of Bern, Vaud had been independent for only four months in 1798 as the Lemanic Republic before it was incorporated into the centralist Helvetic Republic. Léman comprised all of the territory of Vaud detached from Bernese occupation, apart from the Avenches and the Payerne which, after 16 October 1802, were annexed by the canton of Fribourg until the Napoleonic Act of Mediation the following year when they were restored to the newly established and newly sovereign canton of Vaud.
Frédéric-César de La Harpe was a Swiss political leader, writer and journalist, best known for his pivotal role in the independence of the canton of Vaud from Bern and in the formation of the Helvetic Republic, in which he served as a member of its Directory. He was a personal teacher of Alexander I of Russia and educated him in the ideas of the Lumières.
The Grand Council of Vaud is the legislature of the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a unicameral legislature. The Great Council has 150 seats, with members elected every five years.
A by-election to the Swiss Federal Council was held in Switzerland on 16 September 2009, after incumbent Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin announced his intention to retire on 31 October 2009.
The Council of State of the Canton of Vaud is the executive organ of the Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a seven-member Conseil d'État. The responsibilities of the Council of State is to run the administration, submit laws and decrees to the Grand Council, observe a budget and adopt regulations or directives. Essentially, the Cantons define their own structure within federal regulations. Switzerland consists of twenty-six cantons in which each can influence the federal government. Vaud is a part of these cantons, and it is the central area connected to high trafficked communication routes in Switzerland.
Pierre-Yves Maillard is a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party. He was successively a deputy for the canton of Vaud on the National Council, a member of the Council of State of Vaud at the head of the department of health and social action, again national advisor and advisor to the states since the end of 2023.
Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) is the cantonal bank of the Swiss Canton of Vaud. Headquartered in Lausanne, it is Vaud's biggest bank by balance sheet. BCV is a universal bank providing retail banking, corporate banking, wealth management, and trading services.
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.
Rebecca Ana Ruiz is a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party (SP). Since 2019, she has been a member of the Council of State in the canton of Vaud where she heads the cantonal department of health and social action. She also represented Vaud in the National Council from June 2014 to May 2019.
Jacqueline Denise de Quattro is a Swiss-Italian politician, lawyer, and former judoka. As a member of the FDP.The Liberals, she was elected to the Council of State of Vaud in 2007. In 2019, she was elected to a seat in the National Council of Switzerland.
Christelle Luisier is a Swiss politician and lawyer. Since 2022, she has served as the President of the Council of State of Vaud.
