Switzerland,officially the Swiss Confederation,is a landlocked country at the confluence of Western,Central and Southern Europe. The country is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons,with federal authorities based in Bern. Switzerland is bordered by Italy to the south,France to the west,Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau,the Alps and the Jura,spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi) and land area of 39,997 km2 (15,443 sq mi). Although the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory,the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau,where the largest cities and economic centres are,among them Zürich,Geneva and Basel. These three cities are home to several offices of international organisations such as the WTO,the WHO,the ILO,the headquarters of FIFA,the UN's second-largest office,as well as the main office of the Bank for International Settlements. The main international airports of Switzerland are also located in these cities.
Switzerland is a semi-direct democratic federal republic. Since 2011 the leading parties are from the right wing. The federal legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly,the National Council and the Council of States. The Federal Council holds the executive power and is composed of seven power-sharing Federal Councillors elected by the Federal Assembly. The judicial branch is headed by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland,whose judges are elected by the Federal Assembly.
Christoph 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.
Same-sex marriage in Switzerland will be legal from 1 July 2022. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples passed the Swiss Parliament in December 2020. The law was challenged in a referendum on 26 September 2021 by opponents of same-sex marriage and was approved with the support of 64.1% of voters. The law will go into force on 1 July. Same-sex marriages performed abroad have been recognised in Switzerland since 1 January 2022.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender (LGBT) rights in Switzerland are fairly progressive by European standards. Their history is one of liberalisation at an increasing pace since the 1940s,in parallel to the legal 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 will enter into force on 1 July 2022.
Anton "Toni" Brunner is a Swiss farmer and politician who presided over the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) from 2008 to 2016. He was a member of the National Council from 1995 to 2018.
The Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland was a political party in Switzerland from 2008 to 2020. After the 2019 general election,the BDP had three members in the National Council.
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2009. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC),he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019. Formerly head of the Federal Department of Defence,Civil Protection and Sports (2009–2015),Maurer has headed the Federal Department of Finance since 2016. He has been the longest-serving current member of the Federal Council since Doris Leuthard's resignation in 2018.
Karin Keller-Sutter is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2019. A member of FDP.The Liberals,she is the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Keller-Sutter previously served as President of the Council of States for the 2017–2018 term.
An election for all seven members of the Federal Council,the government of Switzerland,was held on 14 December 2011,following the federal election on 23 October 2011. Micheline Calmy-Rey announced she would not run for re-election to the council. According to a traditional informal convention,the successor has to come from the French-speaking or Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. The candidates for her post announced by their respective cantonal sections are Alain Berset (Fribourg),Pierre-Yves Maillard (Vaud),Stéphane Rossini (Valais),and Marina Carobbio (Ticino).
Peter Hess is a Swiss politician and former President of the National Council (2000–01).
Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis is a Swiss physician and politician who is serving as the President of the Swiss Confederation since 1 January 2022 and a member of FDP. The Liberals,he has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1 November 2017. Cassis was elected to the Federal Council on 20 September 2017 following the resignation of Didier Burkhalter. He has headed the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs since he took office. On 8 December 2021,Cassis was elected President of the Swiss Confederation for 2022.
Rudolf "Ruedi" Noser is a Swiss businessman and politician.
Petra Gössi is a Swiss politician. She has served as a member of the Swiss National Council and has been the leader of the FDP.The Liberals party since 2016.
Eva Herzog is a politician of the Social Democratic Party (SP) of Switzerland and a member of the Council of States.
Mattea Julia Meyer is a Swiss politician,a member of the Swiss National Council and co-president of the Swiss Social Democratic Party.
Carlo Sommaruga is a Swiss lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP). He has been a National Councilor for over a decade and since 2019 he is a member of the Council of States.
Marionna Schlatter is a Swiss politician of the Green Party of Switzerland,and a former member of the Cantonal Council of Zurich and current member of the National Council.
In the 1967 Basel Picasso paintings purchase referendum,the people of Basel,Switzerland,voted for the purchase of two paintings by Pablo Picasso,Les deux frères (1906) and Arlequin assis (1923). The referendum took place on 17 December 1967,and the "yes" campaign was supported by the youth of Basel and the local football club FC Basel,among others. Picasso was astonished by the fact that people would vote in favor to buy his art in a majority vote,and invited Franz Meyer,the director of the Kunstmuseum Basel,to see him at his atelier in Mougins,where he presented the "Youth of Basel" with four more of his works.
Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler was a Swiss painter,craftswoman,art collector and patron of the arts.
