Christoph Wolfram Blocher is a Swiss industrialist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2007. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he headed the Federal Department of Justice and Police. As an industrialist, he became wealthy as CEO and majority shareholder in the EMS-Chemie corporation, now run by his daughter, Magdalena Martullo-Blocher.
The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins.
Helvetia is a national personification of Switzerland, officially Confoederatio Helvetica, the Swiss Confederation.
The coat of arms of the Swiss Confederation shows the same white-on-red cross as the flag of Switzerland, but on a heraldic shield instead of the square field.
The Swiss National Bank is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking economic developments into consideration.
The Swiss Life Group is the largest life insurance company of Switzerland and one of Europe’s leading comprehensive life and pensions and financial services providers, with approximately CHF 255.7 bn of assets under management. Founded in 1857 in Zurich as the Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs und Rentenanstalt cooperative, the company entered the Swiss stock market in 1997 and adopted its current name in 2002. In 2023 the group declared an adjusted profit from operations of CHF 1.50 billion, a 1% increase compared to the previous year. Net profit increased by 8% to CHF 1.11 billion. Swiss Life is one of the twenty companies listed under the Swiss Market Index, as SLHN.
Switzerland–Uruguay relations are foreign relations between Uruguay and Switzerland. Both countries share a long history of mutual economic relations, and they established diplomatic relations in 1828. Uruguay became a popular destination for Swiss migrants starting in the 1860s. In the 20th century, Uruguay has looked to Switzerland as a model for government, historical and cultural ties go back to at least the 19th century. There were 956 people with Swiss passports residing in Uruguay in 2008. Uruguay was described as the "Switzerland of the Americas" in a 1951 New York Times article for its popularity as a haven for capital fleeing Europe at the time and its adoption of Swiss-inspired banking laws. Thomas J. Knight also wrote that "Uruguay has for most of its history been the 'Switzerland' of South America."
The PS Stadt Zürich is the older of the two remaining steam paddle ships on Lake Zürich. Stadt Zürich was built in 1909 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft, as the 32nd tourist ship on Lake Zürich. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Rapperswil (1914) are a short smoke stack, and a spacious 1st class upper deck.
The Paddle steamship Stadt Rapperswil is the younger of the two remaining steam paddle ships on Lake Zürich. Stadt Rapperswil was built in 1914 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Zürich (1909) are a short smoke stack, and a spacious 1st class upper deck. The sister ships differ externally only minimally: In front, Stadt Rapperswil has a crossed flag mast. Her 1st class is more luxurious than her sister ship's, recognizable by mahogany and pear tree panelling, and an elaborate staircase to the upper 1st class deck.
The coins of the Swiss franc are the official coins used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The name of the subunit is centime in French and internationally, Rappen in German, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. There are coins in denominations of 5 centimes, 10 centimes, 20 centimes, 1⁄2 franc, 1 franc, 2 francs, and 5 francs.
A shooting thaler is a silver coin in thaler size minted to commemorate a Schützenfest or free shooting in Switzerland.
Helvetia is an international insurance group that exists since 1858. The group of companies has been organised in a holding structure since 1996. The head office of Helvetia Group is located in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Grossner Hafner is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, of which are 56 located in Switzerland.
Ems-Chemie is a Swiss corporate group based in Domat/Ems, in the canton of Graubünden, whose companies are grouped under "Ems-Chemie Holding". This is the only listed company belonging to the scope of consolidation and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. On 31 December 2013, the stock market capitalization reached CHF 7.4 billion. The main shareholders are "Emesta Holding AG" with 60.82% and Miriam Blocher with 8.89%.
Claudia Rosiny is a German-Swiss academic in Dance and Media studies, a festival director and cultural manager. She became internationally known as an expert on video dance. Having served as a co-director of the Berne Dance Days for many years, she is in charge of the Performing Arts at the Federal Office of Culture Berne and teaches at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Ursula Biemann is a Swiss video artist, curator, educator, and art theorist.
The Swiss National Sound Archives are the sound archives of Switzerland, based in Lugano. Its mission is to collect sound recordings related to the history and culture of Switzerland, to make them accessible and to make them available for use. In terms of audio recordings, it thus fulfils a similar function to the Swiss National Library in the field of literature. Since 2016, the National Sound Archives have been an organisational part of the Swiss National Library. The collection has more than 500,000 audio carriers and 20-25,000 audio documents are added each year.
Video games in Switzerland have been released since the 1980s. In 2016, there were between 100 and 120 game companies, mostly small, corresponding to about 500 employees and a turnover of about 50 millions Swiss francs.
Regine Martina Sauter is a Swiss businesswoman and politician. She currently serves as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for The Liberals since 2015.
The Swiss Design Awards competition is a hundred-year old design award and one of the three means of design promotion by the Swiss government's Federal Office of Culture, along with the Most Beautiful Swiss Books and the Grand Prix Design. They are open to Swiss designers and to designers resident in Switzerland. Around 17 prizes of CHF 25,000 each are awarded each year. The Federal Design Commission acts as the jury. The commission is assisted by recognised experts, who it invites for the jury.
