Switzerland is a semi-direct democratic federal republic. 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.
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.
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.
Joseph Deiss is a Swiss economist and politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2006. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC),he first headed the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (1999–2002) before transferring to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (2003–2006). Deiss was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 65th session in 2010.
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 Neue Zürcher Zeitung is a Swiss,German-language daily newspaper,published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality newspaper,as the Swiss-German newspaper of record,and for objective and detailed reports on international affairs.
Le Temps is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021,it has been owned by Fondation Aventinus,a not-for-profit organisation. Le Temps is considered a newspaper of record in Switzerland. According to the Research Department on Public Opinion and Society (FÖG) of the University of Zurich,it is of "high quality".
Alain Berset is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2012 to 2023. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS),he headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs from when he took office. Berset served as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2018 and 2023.
Doris Leuthard is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC),she was elected as President of the Swiss Confederation for 2010 and 2017. Leuthard headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs until 2010,when she became head of the Federal Department of Environment,Transport,Energy and Communications. As of 19 December 2019 she is a member of the board of the Kofi Annan Foundation and Stadler Rail.
On December 12,2007,all seven members of the Federal Council,the government of Switzerland,were elected by the joint chambers of the Federal Assembly for the 2008–2012 term of office. Councillors are elected individually by an absolute majority of votes,with the incumbent councillors defending their seats in descending order of seniority.
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2022. 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 from 2016 to 2022. From 2019 to 2022,he was the longest-serving sitting member of the Federal Council.
WORLD.MINDS is a non-profit foundation set up in June 2008 by Rolf Dobelli,with the goal of creating "a bridge between the science,business and cultural communities".
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).
Daniel Reuwen Jositsch is a Swiss attorney and politician who currently serves on the Council of States (Switzerland) for the Social Democratic Party representing the Canton of Zürich since 2015. He previously served on the National Council (Switzerland) from 2007 to 2015. He briefly served on the Cantonal Council of Zürich before resigning from the post in the fall of 2007. In November 2022,he declared candidacy for Federal Council (Switzerland) but was not officially nominated by his party.
Jean-Noël Rey was a Swiss manager and politician of the Social Democratic Party. He was director-general of the Swiss public post and telecommunications service (PTT) from 1990 to 1998,and a member of the National Council of Switzerland from 2003 to 2007.
Albert Rösti is a Swiss businessman,lobbyist and politician who has been a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1 January 2023. He previously presided over the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) from 2016 to 2020 and served as a member of the National Council for the canton of Bern from 2011 until 2022. Rösti resides in Uetendorf near Thun.
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.
Michael Ambühl is the former Swiss state secretary for foreign affairs. He was Head of Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management at the Department of Management,Technology,and Economics of ETH Zurich. In 2018/19,he was Head of the this Department (Faculty).
Mattea Julia Meyer is a Swiss politician who currently serves as member of the National Council (Switzerland) for the Social Democratic Party since 2015. Concurrently she co-chairs the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland together with Cédric Wermuth. Previously,Meyer served on the Cantonal Council of Zürich from 2011 to 2015.
Viktor Rossi is a Swiss politician and civil servant. A member of the Green Liberal Party,he became Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland on 1 May 2019. On 13 December 2023,he was elected Federal Chancellor of Switzerland,succeeding Walter Thurnherr,and took office on 1 January 2024.
