State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Switzerland)

Secretariat for Economic Affairs

Agency overview
Jurisdiction	Federal administration of Switzerland
Headquarters	Bern
Agency executive	Helene Budliger Artieda
Parent agency	Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
Website	seco.admin.ch

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (often termed as SECO) is Switzerland's governmental center of expertise for economic policy, which includes economic development cooperation. ^[1]

Together with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Peace and Human Rights Division (PHRD) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, it is in charge of implementing Switzerland's international cooperation. ^[2]

History

SECO was created in 1999 by the merger of the then Federal Office of Foreign Economic Affairs and the Federal Office for Economic Development and Employment ^[a] (formerly known as Federal Office of Industry, Crafts and Labor, FOICL). ^{[b] [3]} SECO was described at the time as a "superdepartment" for all things related to Economic affairs in Switzerland. ^[3]

FOICL was created in 1929 as a result of the merger between the Division of Industry and Trade ^[c] and the Federal Office of Labor. ^{[d] [4]}

See also

• Economy of Switzerland

Links

• Official website

References

Notes

1. German: Bundesamt für Wirtschaftsentwicklung und Arbeit, BIGA; French: Office fédéral du développement économique et de l'emploi, OFIAMT; Italian: Ufficio federale dell'industria, delle arti e mestieri e del lavoro, UFIA
2. German: Bundesamt für Industrie, Gewerbe und Arbeit; French: Office fédéral de l’industrie, des arts et métiers et du travail; Italian: Ufficio federale dello sviluppo economico e del lavoro
3. French: Division de l’industrie et des arts et métiers
4. French: Office fédéral du travail

Citations

1. "State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO" . Retrieved May 24, 2022.
2. "Switzerland | Development Co-operation Profiles – Switzerland | OECD iLibrary".
3. "Exit l'OFDE. Naissance hier d'un "superdépartement" de l'économie". Le Temps (in French). 1999-07-02. ISSN   1423-3967 . Retrieved 2022-07-16.
4. "Histoire de la sécurité sociale-Secrétariat d'Etat à l'économie (SECO) et Office fédéral de l'industrie, des arts et métiers et du travail (OFIAMT)". www.histoiredelasecuritesociale.ch. Retrieved 2025-11-22.