Chancellor of Switzerland

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, or to the United Kingdom's chancellor of the exchequer.^[1]

Federal Chancellor of Switzerland
Bundeskanzler der Schweiz (German) Chancelier fédéral de la Suisse (French) Cancelliere federale della Svizzera (Italian) Chancelier federal da la Svizra (Romansh)
Incumbent Viktor Rossi since 1 January 2024
Federal Chancellery of Switzerland
Residence	Federal Palace
Term length	Four years, renewable
Inaugural holder	Jean-Marc Mousson
Formation	1803; 222 years ago (1803)
Website	www.bk.admin.ch

The current chancellor, Viktor Rossi, a member of the Green Liberal Party from Bern, was elected on 13 December 2023. He began his term on 1 January 2024.

Election

The federal chancellor is elected for a four-year term by both chambers of the Federal Assembly, assembled together, at the same time (and by the same process) as it elects the Federal Council.^[2] The election is conducted by secret ballot using an exhaustive ballot in which each member of the Assembly can vote for any eligible person in the first two rounds, but only remaining candidates in subsequent rounds.^[3] If no candidate receives an absolute majority, the candidate(s) with the fewest votes is eliminated.^[3]

Vice-chancellors

Main article: Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland

One or two vice-chancellors are also appointed. In contrast to the chancellor, they are appointed directly by the Federal Council. Prior to 1852, the position was called the state secretary of the Confederation. Currently, Rachel Salzmann is the vice-chancellor in charge of the Federal Council's agenda.

In May 2024, following the sudden passing of Vice-Chancellor André Simonazzi, the Federal Council appointed Ursula Eggenberger ad interim while searching for a permanent successor. Andrea Arcidiacono took over the post of Vice-Chancellor and spokesperson of the Federal Council in October 2024, but resigned shortly after and left his post on March 31, 2025, with Ursula Eggenberger reprising the role ad interim for a second time. ^[4][5][6]

Role

The position is a political appointment and has only a technocratic role.

The chancellor attends meetings of the Federal Council but does not have a vote. The chancellor also prepares the Federal Council's reports to the Federal Assembly on its policy and activities. Still, the chancellor's position is often referred to as that of an "eighth federal councillor". The chancellery is also responsible for the publication of all federal laws.^[7]

List of federal chancellors

#	Tenure	Chancellor	Portrait	Birth–death	Party		Canton
1	1803–1830	Jean-Marc Mousson		1776–1861		Liberal Party	Vaud
2	1831–1847	Josef Franz Karl Amrhyn		1800–1849		Liberal Party	Lucerne
3	1848–1881	Johann Ulrich Schiess		1813–1883		Liberal Party	Appenzell Ausserrhoden
4	1882–1909	Gottlieb Ringier		1837–1929		Liberal Party	Aargau
5	1910–1918	Hans Schatzmann		1848–1923		Free Democratic Party	Aargau
6	1919–1925	Adolf von Steiger		1859–1925		Free Democratic Party	Bern
7	1925–1934	Robert Käslin		1871–1934		Free Democratic Party	Nidwalden
8	1934–1943	George Bovet		1874–1946		Free Democratic Party	Neuchâtel
9	1944–1951	Oskar Leimgruber		1886–1976		Christian Democratic People's Party	Fribourg
10	1951–1967	Charles Oser		1902–1994		Free Democratic Party	Basel-Stadt
11	1968–1981	Karl Huber		1915–2002		Christian Democratic People's Party	St. Gallen
12	1981–1991	Walter Buser		1926–2019		Social Democratic Party	Basel-Landschaft
13	1991–1999	François Couchepin		1935–2023		Free Democratic Party	Valais
14	2000–2007	Annemarie Huber-Hotz		1948–2019		Free Democratic Party	Zug
15	2008–2015	Corina Casanova		1956–		Christian Democratic People's Party	Grisons
16	2016–2023	Walter Thurnherr		1963–		Christian Democratic People's Party	Aargau
						The Centre[Note 1]
17	2024–present	Viktor Rossi		1968–		Green Liberal Party	Bern

See also

• Politics of Switzerland
• List of presidents of the Swiss Confederation
• List of members of the Swiss Federal Council
• Lists of office-holders

Sources

• Chancellor of Switzerland in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Hans-Urs Willi. "The Chancellor: a few historical highlights on the development of their person and the office from ancient times to the Middle Ages and the Zenden Republic of Valais". In Klaus, Michel (editor): Quelle chance pour nos institutions? Mélanges offerts à Monsieur François Couchepin, chancelier de la Confédération à l'occasion de son 60e anniversaire / Festschrift für Bundeskanzler François Couchepin zum 60. Geburtstag. Schlieren 1995. Translated by Paul Suffrin and Elsbeth Hagan.