(15 Dec 1958) On December 11th, the National Assembly elected Paul Chaudet new Chairman of the Swiss Federation. Herbert J. Scheidt, Chairman of the SBA, has a positive and clear statement regarding the course of action taken by the Federal Council: “With this measure, the Federal Council is protecting the Swiss stock exchange infrastructure, which is of key importance to the Swiss economy. Historically, the collegial government of Switzerland has been assessed both internationally and nationally as exceptionally competent and stable. In such cases, Parliament can also suspend the Councillor in office (but not actually remove her or him).[7]. The Federal Council is the highest executive authority in the country. "[15], Federal Councillors, like members of parliament, enjoy absolute legal immunity for all statements made in their official capacity. The Federal Council is the highest executive authority in the country. Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Ministry of Treasury and Finance UK Andrew Bailey. The Federal Council [1] is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves the collective executive head of government and state of Switzerland. Function Name Telephone / e-mail; Enquiries: Marianne Reusser T +41 58 322 94 66 F +41 58 322 96 59APK.CPE@parl.admin.ch: Committee Secretary: Florent Manuel Tripet: T +41 58 322 94 47 Historically, at least two Council seats have always been held by French- or Italian-speaking Swiss. It was hastened by the FDP's and CVP's gradually diminishing voter shares, complemented by the rise of new parties of lesser power at the ends of the political spectrum. The 7 members of the Federal Council (executive branch of the Federation) are nominated for 4 years by the Federal Assembly (National Council and Council of States), during a joint discussion, and chosen amongst the Swiss citizens eligible for the National Council. Once elected, Councillors remain members of their political parties, but hold no leading office with them. Today, only three other states, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andorra and San Marino, have collective rather than unitary heads of state. [9] The Federal Assembly also elects a Vice President. Based on their strengths in the Federal Assembly, the seats were distributed as follows: The FDP and CVP have been getting less popular, and more people have supported the SVP and SPS. The Federal Council meets each Wednesday at the Bundeshaus in Bern, the seat of the Swiss federal government. Unlike most senior members of government in other countries, the Federal Councillors are not entitled to an official residence. Every adult Swiss citizen is eligible, but in practice, only Members of Parliament or more rarely, members of Cantonal governments are nominated by the political parties and receive a substantial amount of votes. Due to the Federal Council's unique nature as a voluntary grand coalition of political opponents, its operation is subject to numerous constitutional conventions. The collegial system of government is often used for government. In total, there have been nine female Councillors in the period 1989 to present: Until 1999, the Constitution mandated that no canton could have more than one representative on the Federal Council. While the entire council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland , each Councilor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. This page was last edited on 27 April 2021, at 00:37. In the 2010 election, the two new Councillors Simonetta Sommaruga and Johann Schneider-Ammann were both from the Canton of Bern.[7]. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs suspended export licences and licence exemptions for controlled dual-use goods to Ukraine, thereby making such goods subject to individual review. The Swiss Federal Council (SFC) declared at its extraordinary meeting held on 16 March 2020 an «extraordinary situation» in Switzerland in terms of the Federal Act on the control of communicable human diseases and implemented amendments to the Ordinance 2 on measures to prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) (COVID-19 Ordinance 2). The spouses of Councillors do not play an official part in the business of government, apart from accompanying the Councillors to official receptions. 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