Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Demographics of the Swiss Federal Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The tables below show information and statistics about the members of the Swiss Federal Council (in German: Bundesrat, in French: conseil fédéral, in Italian: consiglio federale), or Federal Councilors (in German: Bundesräte, in French: conseillers fédéraux, in Italian: consiglieri federali).
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. Each of the seven Federal Councillors heads a department of the Swiss federal government. The members of the Federal Council are elected for a term of four years by both chambers of the federal parliament sitting together as the Federal Assembly. Each Councillor is elected individually by secret ballot by an absolute majority of votes. Since 1848, the seven Councillors have never been replaced simultaneously, thus guaranteeing a continuity of the government.
Once elected for a four-year-term, Federal Councillors can neither be voted out of office by a motion of no confidence nor can they be impeached. Reelection is possible for an indefinite number of terms, and it has historically been extremely rare for Parliament not to reelect a sitting Councillor and this has only happened four times. In practice, therefore, Councillors serve until they decide to resign and retire to private life, usually after three to five terms of office.
Remove ads
Parties
Time in office

Schenk died in his 32nd year in office.

Perrier died just 14 months after his election.
The following tables do not include councilors currently in office.
Remove ads
Age (oldest and youngest)

Ador was elected at age 72

Numa Droz was 31 years old at his election
Lifespan


Schaffner died at age 95 in 2004
Remove ads
References
- Federal Council in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- The Swiss Confederation: A brief guide 2006, edited by the Swiss Federal Chancellery.
- "Resultate der Wahlen des Bundesrats, der Bundeskanzler und des Generals" (PDF). Federal Assembly., compiled by the services of the Swiss Parliament.
- Clive H. Church (2004). The Politics and Government of Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-69277-2.
Remove ads
External links
- Chronological index of Federal Councillors, on the official website of the Swiss Federal Council.
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads