Bern or Berne is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their "federal city", in German Bundesstadt, French ville fédérale, and Italian città federale. With a population of about 140,000, Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons.
Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is a Swiss politician. She was member of the Swiss Federal Council and became Switzerland's foreign minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2011. She was Vice President of the Confederation in 2006 and 2010 and President in 2007 and 2011. She resigned her office as member of the Federal Council on 31 December 2011.
Ruth Metzler-Arnold is a Swiss politician and former member of the Swiss Federal Council (1999–2003).
The Swiss People's Party, also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre, is a national-conservative, right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Albert Rösti, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 53 members of the National Council and 6 of the Council of States.
The Green Liberal Party of Switzerland, abbreviated to glp, is a centrist green-liberal political party in Switzerland. Founded in 2007, the party holds sixteen seats in the Federal Assembly as of the October 2019 election.
Adrian Amstutz is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss National Council from the Canton of Berne.
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is a Swiss politician and lawyer, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2008 to 2015. She was the head of the Federal Department of Finance. She served as President of the Swiss Confederation for the year 2012.
Tilo Frey ) was a Swiss politician. She was one of the first twelve women elected to the National Council in 1971 and was the first person of African descent elected to the National Council. Prior to her service at the federal level, she was a member of the munucipal council of Neuchâtel and the Grand Council of Neuchâtel.
Hansjörg Wyss is a Swiss entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist. He is the founder and was president, then chairman, of Synthes USA, until its sale in 2012. Wyss lives in Wyoming and has supported philanthropic causes relating to environmental protection, social justice, and science. His contributions led to the establishment of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University in 2009 and he created the Wyss Foundation, which aims to conserve natural environments, including public lands in the Western United States, Africa, South America, and South Australia. As of 2017, Wyss has a net worth of US$5.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer is a Swiss politician who served as President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019. A member of the Swiss People's Party, he has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2009. Formerly head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (2009–2015), Maurer has served as head of the Federal Department of Finance since 2016.
Two by-elections to the Swiss Federal Council were held in Switzerland on 22 September 2010, after Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger (SP) announced he would leave the Federal Council effective 31 December 2010 and Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz on 6 August 2010 announced his intention to retire effective late October 2010. 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 serving as President of the Swiss Confederation since 2020. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she has been a Member of the Federal Council since 2010. Sommaruga has served as head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications since 2019 and previously was head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. She served as Vice President of the Federal Council for the year 2014; in 2015 Sommaruga assumed the role of President of the Swiss Confederation. Subsequently, she returned to the council's presidency in 2020.
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. In 1991 following a decision by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI) became the last Swiss canton to grant women the vote on local issues; AI is the smallest Swiss canton with c. 14,100 inhabitants in 1990.
Regula Rytz is a Swiss historian and politician of the Green Party of Switzerland. She is a member of the National Council and the president of the Green Party of Switzerland.
Ursula Wyss is a Swiss politician and economist. She represented the Canton of Bern in the Swiss National Council as member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) from 6 December 1999 to 3 March 2013.
Nicolle Marie Bruderer Cofiño is a Guatemalan professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Tibco–Silicon Valley Bank.
Min Li Marti is a Swiss sociologist, historian, publisher and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP).
Yvonne Feri is a Swiss politician who has served as a member of the National Council since 2011. Born in Baden and raised in nearby Hedingen, Feri worked at the Swiss Farmers Union under an apprenticeship after graduating from school, and shortly after moved into politics. Her first elected political position was to the Grand Council of Aargau, and served in their council from 1998 to 2008. She also served as a member of the municipal council for Wettingen during that time, serving from 2001 to 2005.
Samira Marti is a politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. She became a National Councillor in December 2018.
Susanne Leutenegger Oberholzer is a politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. She was a National Councillor from 1987 to 1991, then again from 1999 to 2018.
