Switzerland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Switzerland Image File history File links Coat_of_Arms_of_Switzerland. ... Switzerland is a federal republic, and perhaps the closest state in the world to a direct democracy. ...

Constitution Federal Council (members) Moritz Leuenberger (Pres. 06) Pascal Couchepin (VP 07) Samuel Schmid Micheline Calmy-Rey (Pres. 07) Christoph Blocher Hans-Rudolf Merz Doris Leuthard Federal Chancellor (list) Federal Assembly Council of States (members) National Council (members) Political parties Elections 2003 - 2007 Voting in Switzerland Federal judiciary Federal Supreme Court Federal Insurance Court Federal Criminal Court Federal Administrative Court Cantons Foreign relations Human rights

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The President of the Confederation (Italian: Presidente della Confederazione, French: Président de la Confédération, German: Bundespräsident) is the presiding member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerland's seven-member executive. Elected by the Federal Assembly for one year, the President of the Confederation chairs the meetings of the Federal Council and undertakes special representational duties. Primus inter pares, the President has no powers above the other Councillors and continues to head his department. Traditionally the duty rotates among the members in order of seniority and the previous year's Vice President becomes President. The Swiss Federal Council (German: Schweizerischer Bundesrat, French: Conseil fédéral suisse, Italian: Consiglio federale svizzero, Romansh: Cussegl federal svizzer) is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the government as well as the head of state of Switzerland. ... The table below shows the members of the Swiss Federal Council or Federal Councilors (in German: Bundesräte, in French: conseillers fédéraux, in Italian: consiglieri federali) for any given year since instauration of the federal council (in German: Bundesrat, in French: conseil fédéral, in Italian: consiglio... Moritz Leuenberger (born September 21, 1946) is a Swiss politician. ... The list of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation (1848-present) presents the presiding member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerlands seven-member executive. ... Pascal Couchepin (born April 5, 1942) is a Swiss politician. ... The list of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation (1848-present) presents the presiding member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerlands seven-member executive. ... Samuel Schmid Samuel Schmid (born January 8, 1947) is a member of the Swiss Federal Council, heading the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports. ... Micheline Calmy-Rey (born July 8, 1945) is a Swiss politician. ... The list of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation (1848-present) presents the presiding member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerlands seven-member executive. ... Christoph Blocher (born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss politician, industrialist and member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police. ... Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician. ... Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician, lawyer, member of the Swiss National Council (since 1999) and President of the Christian Democratic Peoples Party (CVP/PDC) (since 2004). ... The Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler, in German; Chancelier fédéral in French; Cancelliere della Confederazione in Italian) is the head of the Federal Chancellery, which acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Council (the federal government). ... The Bundeshaus (Swiss parliament building) The Federal Assembly (in German, Bundesversammlung; in French, Assemblée fédérale; in Italian language, Assemblea federale), is Switzerlands federal parliament. ... The Council of States of Switzerland (German: Ständerat, French Conseil des Etats, Italian Consiglio degli Stati) is the upper house of the Swiss parliament. ... This is a list of the members of the Swiss Council of States of the current legislature (2003-2007). ... The National Council of Switzerland (German: Nationalrat, French: Conseil National, Italian: Consiglio Nazionale) is the large Chamber of the parliament and has 200 seats. ... This is a list of the 200 members of the Swiss National Council (as of January 2005). ... Political parties in Switzerland lists political parties in Switzerland. ... Politics of Switzerland Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Switzerland ... Legislative elections in the Swiss Confederation were held on 19 October 2003. ... Federal elections will be held in Swizerland in October 2007. ... Voting in Switzerland is the process with which Swiss citizens make decisions about governance and elect officials. ... The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (Tribunal fédéral in French, Schweizerisches Bundesgericht in German, Tribunale federale in Italian) is the supreme court of Switzerland. ... The Federal Insurance Court of Switzerland (FIC; German: Versicherungsgericht, French: Tribunal fédéral des assurances, Italian: Tribunale federale delle assicurazioni) is the judicial authority responsible for social insurance law as part of administrative law. ... The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland (FCC; German: , French: , Italian: ) is the court of first instance in cases subject to federal criminal jurisdiction in Switzerland. ... The Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland (FAC; German: , French: , Italian: ) is the judicial authority to which decisions of the federal authorities of Switzerland can be appealed from 1 January 2007 onwards. ... The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ... Flag of Switzerland. ... Human rights are comprehensively guaranteed in Switzerland, one of Europes oldest democracies. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The Swiss Federal Council (German: Schweizerischer Bundesrat, French: Conseil fédéral suisse, Italian: Consiglio federale svizzero, Romansh: Cussegl federal svizzer) is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the government as well as the head of state of Switzerland. ... The Bundeshaus (Swiss parliament building) The Federal Assembly (in German, Bundesversammlung; in French, Assemblée fédérale; in Italian language, Assemblea federale), is Switzerlands federal parliament. ... First among equals is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most senior of a group of people sharing the same rank or office. ... A ministry is a department of a government, led by a minister. ...

Competencies

The Swiss President is not - as are for example the Presidents in Austria or Germany - the Head of State of the country. The Swiss Federal Constitution knows neither a Head of State nor a Head of Government. All of these functions are administered by the Federal Council collectively. If a tie vote occurs in this council, the President, as Chair of the Federal Council, casts the deciding vote. Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... The Swiss Constitution (Bundesverfassung in German, Constitution fédérale in French, Constituzione federale in Italian and Constituziun federala in Romansh) is at the highest level of Switzerlands judicial system. ...

In addition to the control of their own Department, the President carries out some of the representative duties of a Head of State. At first this was only the case inside Switzerland: The President holds speeches on the New Year and the Swiss National Holiday (1st August). More recently, added foreign visits means that the President travels abroad often as well.

However, because the Swiss have no single Head of State, the country also carries out no state visits. When traveling abroad, the President does so only as an ordinary Minister of a government Department.

Visiting heads of state are received by the seven members of the Federal Council together, rather than the President of the Confederation.

Election

The President is elected by the Federal Assembly from the Federal Council in each case for one year.

In the 19th century, the election of the Federal President was an award for especially esteemed Federal Council members. However, a few influential members of the government were regularly passed over. One such example was St. Galler Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, who belonged to the government for twenty-seven years, but was federal president only once in 1853.

Since the twentieth century, the election has usually not been disputed. There is an unwritten rule that the member of the Federal Council who has not been Federal President the longest becomes president. Therefore every Federal Council member gets a turn at least once every seven years. The only question in the elections that provides some tension is the question of how many votes the person who is to be elected president receives. This is seen as a test of their popularity. In the 1970s and 1980s, 200 votes (of 246 possible) was seen as an excellent result. However, in the current era of growing party-political conflicts, 180 votes are already considered a respectable outcome.

Until 1920 it was usually customary for the serving federal president to also take over the Foreign Ministry. Therefore every year there was a moving around of posts, as the retiring president moved back to his old department and the new president moved into the foreign ministry. Likewise, it was traditional for the federal president, even as foreign minister, not to leave Switzerland during his year in office.

The 2006 President of the Confederation is Moritz Leuenberger. On 13 December 2006, Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected president for 2007 and Pascal Couchepin was elected vice-president; if tradition holds, he will be elected president in 2008. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Moritz Leuenberger (born September 21, 1946) is a Swiss politician. ... -1... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Micheline Calmy-Rey (born July 8, 1945) is a Swiss politician. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pascal Couchepin (born April 5, 1942) is a Swiss politician. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation

The list of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation (1848-present) presents the presiding member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerlands seven-member executive. ...

External links

• President of the Swiss Confederation 2006 -- official site.