The Swiss order of precedence is a hierarchy of important positions within the government of Switzerland. It has no legal standing but is used by ceremonial protocol. The order of precedence is determined by the Protocol Regulations [1] and the Table of Precedence [2] of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Unless otherwise noted, precedence among persons of equal rank is determined by seniority. As a general rule, spouses share the same rank.
| Color legend |
|---|
| Governments, Parliaments and Courts of the Confederation, Cantons and Communes |
| Diplomats |
| Armed forces |
| Federal administration |
| Religious and educational authorities |
| Rank | Position | Incumbent (as of 3 February 2023 [update] ) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | President of the Confederation | Viola Amherd [3] |
| 2 | Vice President of the Federal Council | Karin Keller-Sutter [3] |
| 3 | Federal Councillors [note 1] | Guy Parmelin, Ignazio Cassis, Albert Rösti, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider, Beat Jans [3] [4] |
| Commanding General [note 2] | vacant in time of peace | |
| 4 | President of the National Council | Eric Nussbaumer [5] |
| 5 | President of the Council of States | Eva Herzog [6] |
| 6 | Federal Chancellor | Walter Thurnherr [3] |
| 7 | President of the Federal Supreme Court | Martha Niquille [7] |
| 8 | Former Federal Councillors [note 1] | see List of members of the Federal Council |
| 9 | Presidents of the cantonal governments [note 3] | see List of cantonal executives |
| ||
| 10 | Vice Presidents of the National Council | Martin Candinas (1st), [note 4] Eric Nussbaumer (2nd) [note 4] [5] |
| 11 | Vice Presidents of the Council of States | Brigitte Häberli-Koller (1st), [note 4] Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (2nd) [note 4] [6] |
| 12 | Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court | |
| Bishops | ||
| 13 | Chief of the Armed Forces | Thomas Süssli [8] |
| Secretaries of State | ||
| 14 | Members of the National Council [note 1] | see List of members of the National Council |
| 15 | Members of the Council of States [note 1] | see List of members of the Council of States |
| 16 | Judges of the Federal Supreme Court [note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Supreme Court |
| 17 | President of the Federal Criminal Court | Tito Ponti [9] |
| 18 | President of the Federal Administrative Court | Jean-Luc Baechler [10] |
| 19 | President of the Federal Patent Court | Mark Schweizer [11] |
| 20 | Heads of Swiss diplomatic missions | |
| Lieutenant Generals | ||
| ||
| President of the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology | Fritz Schiesser [15] | |
| 21 | Vice Presidents of the cantonal governments [note 3] | see List of cantonal executives |
| 22 | Vice President of the Federal Criminal Court | Giuseppe Muschietti [9] |
| 23 | Vice President of the Federal Administrative Court | Marianne Ryter [10] |
| 24 | Vice President of the Federal Patent Court | Frank Schnyder [11] |
| 25 | Members of the cantonal governments [note 3] | see List of cantonal executives |
| 26 | Members of the Board of the Swiss National Bank | Fritz Zurbrügg, Andréa Maechler [12] |
| 27 | Ambassadors | |
| Major Generals | ||
| see Federal administration | |
| 28 | Mayor of Bern | Alec von Graffenried [16] |
| Rectors of universities and equivalent establishments | ||
| 29 | Presidents of cantonal legislatures [note 3] | see List of cantonal legislatures |
| Brigadier Generals | ||
| Deputy directors | ||
| 30 | University deans and directors | |
| 31 | Presidents of the cantonal courts [note 3] | |
| Deans of religious authorities | ||
| 32 | Judges of the Federal Criminal Court [note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Criminal Court |
| Professors of universities and equivalent establishments | ||
| 33 | Judges of the Federal Administrative Court [note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Administrative Court |
| 34 | Judges of the Federal Patent Court [note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Patent Court |
| 35 | Presidents of municipal executive authorities [note 3] | |
| 36 | Chancellors of cantons [note 3] | |
| Ministers | ||
| Colonels | ||
| Vice directors | ||
| 37 | Members of cantonal legislatures [note 3] | see List of cantonal legislatures |
| 38 | ||
| Lieutenant Colonels | ||
| 39 | Majors | |
| Section heads | ||
| Priests and Protestant Ministers | ||
| 40 | Vicars |
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's population of 9 million are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.
The government of Switzerland is a federal state with direct democracy.
Kaspar Villiger is a Swiss businessman, former tobacco manufacturer and politician. He served as a member of the Federal Council (Switzerland) since 1 February 1989 for The Liberals. Villiger served two terms as President of the Swiss Confederation in 1995 and again in 2002. He previously served on the Council of States (Switzerland) from 1987 to 1989 and on the National Council (Switzerland) from 1982 to 1987.
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte. Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte and Dreizehn Orte.
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.
Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli of a basilica, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery. The word is now used in the titles of many various officers in various settings. Nowadays the term is most often used to describe:
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.
Anna Elisabeth Kopp was a Swiss politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). She was the first woman to serve in the Swiss government, the Federal Council. She held that office from 2 October 1984 to 12 January 1989, when she resigned following a scandal over an alleged breach of official secrecy. She previously served as a member of the National Council from 1979 to 1984.
The National Council is the lower house of the Federal Assembly, and the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the National Council is the larger of the two houses.
Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. Among Switzerland's neighbouring countries, all but one are EU member states.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Switzerland are some of the most progressive by world standards. Social attitudes and the legal situation have liberalised at an increasing pace since the 1940s, in parallel to the situation in Europe and the Western world more generally. Legislation providing for same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and IVF access was accepted by 64% of voters in a referendum on 26 September 2021, and entered into force on 1 July 2022.
The federal administration of Switzerland is the ensemble of agencies that constitute, together with the Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of the Swiss federal authorities. The administration is charged with executing federal law and preparing draft laws and policy for the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly.
The Swiss Federal Archives are the national archives of Switzerland. Additionally, the cantons have official archives of their own. The building and its collections are a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and 2020.
Regula Rytz is a Swiss historian and politician of the Green Party of Switzerland. She was a member of the National Council from 2011 to 2022. From 2012 to 2016, she was the co-president of the Green Party of Switzerland. She was the party president from 2016 to 2020.
Jörg De Bernardi is a Swiss diplomat and politician. He held the office of Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland between August 2016 and December 2018, in charge of the Federal Council's affairs.
Ten national referendums were held in Switzerland in 2018. Voting took place on 4 March, 10 June, 23 September and 25 November.
Hanna Muralt Müller is a Swiss politician, member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. She held the office of Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland between 1991 and 2005, in charge of the Federal Council sector, which organizes and documents the council's activities. Initially working as a school teacher, she obtained a degree in history at the University of Bern in 1976. In 1978, she worked as a scientific adviser to a parliamentary commission in the canton Bern, before joining the Federal administration in 1983. She first worked for the federal office of education and science, and joined the Chancellery in 1987, leading the Chancellor's general secretariat since February 1988.
Eva Andrea Allemann abbreviated as Evi Allemann is a Swiss politician who currently serves as member of the Executive Council of Bern for the Social Democratic Party since 2018. She previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) between 2003 and 2018.
Aline Trede is a Swiss-German politician who currently serves on the National Council (Switzerland) for the Green Party since 2018. She previously served one term between 2013 and 2015 and also on the City of Berne Parliament from 2009 to 2012.
