1.
President of the Swiss Confederation
–
The President of the Confederation is the presiding member of the seven-member Swiss Federal Council, Switzerlands executive. Elected by the Federal Assembly for one year, the President of the Confederation chairs the meetings of the Federal Council, primus inter pares, the President has no powers over and above the other six Councillors and continues to head her/his department. Traditionally the duty rotates among the members in order of seniority, as first among equals, the Federal Council member serving as President of the Confederation is not considered the Swiss head of state. Rather, the entire Federal Council is considered a head of state. Article 176 specifically relates to the Presidency, when a tied vote occurs in the council, the President – as the chair of the council – casts the deciding vote. In addition to the control of his or her own Department, at first this was only the case inside Switzerland, where the President also often travels abroad, previously, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs handled most of those visits. However, because the Swiss have no head of state. When traveling abroad, the President does so only in their capacity as head of their department, visiting heads of state are received by the seven members of the Federal Council together, rather than by the President of the Confederation. Treaties are signed on behalf of the full Council, with all Federal Council members signing letters of credence, the President is elected by the Federal Assembly from the Federal Council for a term of one year. In the nineteenth century, the election as 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 Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, who – although a member of the Federal Council for 27 years – was Federal President only once, since the twentieth century, the election has usually not been disputed. There is a 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 popularity test, in the 1970s and 1980s,200 votes was seen as an excellent result, but in the current era of growing party-political conflicts,180 votes are a respectable outcome. Until 1920, it was customary for the serving Federal President to also lead the Department of Foreign Affairs, therefore, every year there was a moving around of posts, as the retiring President returned to his former department and the new president took up the Foreign Affairs portfolio. Likewise, it was traditional for the Federal President not to leave Switzerland during his year in office, list of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation Official website President of the Confederation in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
2.
Adolf Ogi
–
Adolf Ogi is a Swiss politician from the village of Kandersteg in the Swiss Alps. He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 9 December 1987 and he handed over office on 31 December 2000. From 2001 to 2008, Ogi was a Special Adviser on Sport for Development, mr Ogi is today an Ambassador for Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization, committed to serving peace in the world through sport. Adolf Ogi holds a Doctor Honoris Causa from European University, mr. Adolf Ogi released a biography called Dölf Ogi, Statesman and Sportsman. UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace Profile of Adolf Ogi with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council, Adolf Ogi in the German National Library catalogue Business activities of Adolf Ogi, Swiss Register of Corporations
3.
Flavio Cotti
–
Flavio Cotti is a Swiss politician. He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 10 December 1986 and he is affiliated to the Christian Democratic Peoples Party of Switzerland. Flavio Cotti in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, profile of Flavio Cotti with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council. Flavio Cotti in the German National Library catalogue
4.
Federal Department of Home Affairs
–
The Federal Department of Home Affairs is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss ministry of the interior. As of 2012, it is headed by Federal Councillor Alain Berset, like the other federal departments, the FDHA is composed of a General Secretariat, several Federal Offices, and a number of other and affiliated administrative entities. The General Secretariat is responsible for planning, coordination and controlling and it provides consultancy services for the entire department. Its legal service is responsible for supervising charitable foundations. The Federal Commission against Racism, the Service for Combating Racism, as of 2008, the General Secretariat is led by Secretary-General Pascal Strupler. It has a staff of 62, annual revenues of CHF1 million, the FOGEs main concern are equal rights in the workplace and at home. The Secretariat of the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues is also affiliated to this office, as of 2008, the FOGE is led by Director Patricia Schulz. It has a staff of 12, no revenues and annual expenditures of CHF8 million, the Federal Office of Culture is active in the areas of cultural promotion and awareness, cultural heritage and the conservation of historic buildings and monuments. The FOC also supports the arts, design and film-making and promotes the concerns of linguistic and it is the contact point for queries regarding looted art and the transfer of cultural goods. As of 2008, the FOC is led by Director Jean-Frédéric Jauslin and it has a staff of 220, annual revenues of CHF4 million and annual expenditures of CHF202 million. The Swiss National Library’s task is to collect, preserve, catalogue and make available all printed, in addition, the NL also houses a series of special collections, the most important being the Swiss Literary Archives and the Graphic Collection. The Dürrenmatt Centre in Neuchâtel is also part of the Swiss National Library, as of 2008, the NL is led by Director Marie-Christine Doffey. It has a staff of 126, no revenues and annual expenditures of CHF34 million, the inventory includes original documents such as the Swiss Constitution, deeds, photos, films, recordings and databases. As of 2008, the SFA are led by Director Andreas Kellerhals and they have a staff of 47, no revenues and annual expenditures of CHF16 million. MeteoSwiss issues weather forecasts and warnings in the event of bad weather conditions and it gives information on the dangers to disaster protection units, the media and the general public. MeteoSwiss also operates telemetry ground stations, rainfall radars and remote sensing instruments at over 700 locations, weather models use this data to calculate forecasts up to ten days in advance. As a federal office with a budget, MeteoSwiss sells customised forecasts to businesses. As of 2008, MeteoSwiss is led by Director Daniel K. Keuerleber-Burk and it has a staff of 273, annual revenues of CHF36 million and annual expenditures of CHF79 million
5.
Pascal Couchepin
–
Pascal Couchepin is a Swiss politician, former member of the Swiss Federal Council and President of the Confederation in 2003 and 2008. He headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs from 2003 to 2009 and he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 11 March 1998 as a member of the Free Democratic Party and the canton of Valais. He was quoted as saying there is no reason for the Swiss Government to pay anything. In 2003 he moved to the Federal Department of Home Affairs and he was the President of the Confederation in 2003. On 13 December 2006, he was elected vice-president of the Federal Council for 2007, previously, he had been Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Martigny and, from 1979 to 1998, member of the National Council. Couchepin holds a DEAs degree in Law from the University of Lausanne, is father of three and has two grandchildren, during the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy, he stated the Popes speech was intelligent and necessary. On 12 June 2009, Couchepin announced his resignation from the Federal Council effective 31 October 2009 and this led to an election to fill his vacated seat. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, pierre du Bois de Dunilac Profile of Pascal Couchepin with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council. Yves Fournier, Pascal Couchepin in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, biography of Pascal Couchepin on the website of the Swiss Parliament
6.
Micheline Calmy-Rey
–
Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is a Swiss politician. She was member of the Swiss Federal Council and became Switzerlands foreign minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2011 and she was Vice President of the Confederation in 2006 and 2010 and President in 2007 and 2011. She resigned her office as member of the Federal Council on 31 December 2011, Calmy-Rey was born in Sion in the canton of Valais on 8 July 1945 to Charles and Adeline Rey. She received her diploma in 1963 in St. Maurice, while studying she married André Calmy, and they have two children. Calmy-Rey established an enterprise in the book distribution business. From 1981 to 1997 Calmy-Rey served as a representative in the Grand Conseil of the canton of Geneva as a member of the Social Democratic Party and she was president of the Geneva section of the party from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, Calmy-Rey was elected to the Conseil dEtat of Geneva, in 2001, she became head of the Finance Department and president of the Conseil dEtat of the canton. She was elected on 4 December 2002 to the Federal Council, Calmy-Rey is the fourth woman elected to the Federal Council in history. She was also elected Vice-President of Switzerland, a post she held for the year of 2006. Calmy-Rey supports Switzerland joining the European Union and she is an Eminent Member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation, the project SAFFA2020 is also under her patronage and of the councillors Doris Leuthard, Simonetta Sommaruga and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, on 1 January 2007, she became the second female President of the Confederation in history, the first having been her predecessor on the Federal Council, Ruth Dreifuss. She was elected as President on 13 December 2006 by 147 votes, however, by Swiss tradition, it was a foregone conclusion she would be elected. She had been the longest-serving councillor not to have been President and she was also the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence, and had the power to act on behalf of the whole Council in emergency situations. However, in most cases she was merely prima inter pares, with no power above and she had already handled most official visits abroad since being elected to the Federal Council, the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs traditionally carries out such visits. Calmy-Rey was chosen as president for 2010, serving alongside Doris Leuthard. On 8 December 2010, she was chosen, for the second time and she announced in September 2011 that she would resign from the government in the following December. From 2012 to 2013, Calmy-Rey was a member of the High-Level Advisory Council of the President of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and her appearance together with the Iranian president sparked a negative reaction from Socialist MP Maria Roth-Bernasconi. In response, Calmy-Rey stated that she was following protocol out of respect, and that had she not done so, she would not have been able to attend the meeting, which has been widely acknowledged
7.
St. Gallen
–
St. Gallen or traditionally St Gall, in German sometimes Sankt Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century, today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. Its economy consists mainly of the service sector, the main tourist attraction is the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Abbeys renowned library contains books from the 9th century, the official language of St. Gallen is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The city has good links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps, St. Gallen is situated in the northeastern part of Switzerland in a valley about 700 meters above sea level. It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland and thus receives abundant winter snow, the city lies between Lake Constance and the mountains of the Appenzell Alps. It therefore offers excellent recreation areas nearby, as the city center is built on an unstable turf ground, all buildings on the valley floor must be built on piles. For example, the foundation of the train station and its plaza are based on hundreds of piles. St. Gallen has an area, as of 2006, of 39.3 km2, of this area,31. 1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28. 9% is forested. Of the rest of the land,38. 4% is settled, the founding of St. Gallen is attributed to the Irish monk Gallus, who built a hermitage by the river Steinach in 612 AD. Around 720, one hundred years after Galluss death, the Alemannian priest Othmar built a monastery, in 719, its first abbot Otmar extended it to an abbey. In 926 Hungarian raiders attacked the abbey and surrounding town, Saint Wiborada, the first woman formally canonized by the Vatican, reportedly saw a vision of the impending attack and warned the monks and citizens to flee. While the monks and the abbey treasure escaped, Wiborada chose to stay behind and was killed by the raiders, between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey, and its books were removed for safekeeping to Reichenau. Not all the books were returned, on 26 April 937 a fire consumed much of the abbey, spreading to the adjoining settlement. About 954 a protective wall was raised around the abbey, by 975 abbot Notker finished the wall, in 1207, Abbot Ulrich von Sax was granted the rank of Imperial Prince by Philip of Swabia, King of the Germans. As an ecclesiastical principality, the Abbey of St. Gallen was to constitute an important territorial state, however, in 1803 it lost its independence and was incorporated into the new Canton of St. Gallen. The city of St. Gallen proper progressively freed itself from the rule of the abbot, acquiring Imperial immediacy, by about 1353 the guilds, headed by the cloth-weavers guild, had gained control of the civic government
8.
Switzerland
–
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
9.
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
–
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland. It is represented by two Federal Councilors since 1960 and got the second-most votes in the 2015 national elections, the party was founded on 21 October 1888, and is currently the second largest of the four leading coalition political parties in Switzerland. It is the only left-wing party with representatives in the Swiss Federal Council and it is also the second largest political party in the Swiss parliament. The current members in the Swiss Federal Council are, Alain Berset, the SP is the biggest pro-European party in Switzerland and supports Swiss membership of the European Union, unlike most other Swiss parties. Additionally, it is opposed to capitalism and maintains a long-term goal of overcoming capitalism. The party is a member of the Socialist International, the Progressive Alliance. With its foundation in October 1888, the Social Democratic Party was considered to be the opposition to the Radicals in government and parliament. After the unsuccessful General strike in 1918, proportional representation was introduced which helped the SP gain 41 seats in parliament, the party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1927 and 1940. After the strike the party took a line and in 1943 it became the strongest party in parliament. It picked up a seat in 1959. The partys historical archives is today hosted by the Swiss Social Archives, the SP supports classical social democratic policies. To that rule, the SP stands for a government offering strong public services, the SP also opposes raising the retirement age. In addition, the SP is a proponent of increasing spending in some areas such as for a publicly financed maternity leave, universal health care. In tax policy the SP opposes the notion of lowering taxes for high-income citizens, by campaigning for the harmonisation of all tax rates in Switzerland, the SP seeks more redistribution. The SP is skeptical toward the privatization of state enterprises, nonetheless, the SP also promotes more competition in the areas of agriculture and parallel imports. In social policy, the SP is committed to social equity, thus, the SP aims at making working conditions for women in families easier by promoting more external childcare centers and more opportunities for part-time jobs. It also aims at reinforcing sexual equality in terms of eliminating wage differences based on gender, supports civil union for homosexuals, the SP also rejects strengthening restrictions on asylum seekers and immigrants. Thus, it supports the integration of immigrants by which the immigrants are assigned to immigration procedures immediately after entering the country, the SP has a liberal stance toward drugs and is in favor of publicly regulated heroin consumption and the legalization of cannabis
10.
Alma mater
–
Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
11.
University of Geneva
–
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary and it remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it dropped its religious affiliations and became officially secular, today, the university is the second-largest university in Switzerland by number of students. In 2009, the University of Geneva celebrated the 450th anniversary of its founding, at least 40% of the students come from foreign countries. In 2015, it was ranked 58th worldwide by the Shanghai ranking, in 2011, it was ranked 73rd worldwide by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 69th in the QS World University Rankings. UNIGE is a member of the League of European Research Universities the Coimbra Group, the University of Geneva is located in several districts in the eastern part of the city and in the nearby city of Carouge, and the different buildings are sometimes very distant from each other. The oldest building is the Collège Calvin, and is not anymore a university building, built between 1868 and 1871, Uni Bastions is the symbol of Genevas academic life. It is located in the middle of a park and is host to the faculty of Protestant Theology and its architecture was inspired by Le Corbusier. It hosts the Rectorat and the administration of the University and it is Switzerlands biggest building dedicated to social sciences. It currently hosts the Faculty of Law, of Economics and Social Sciences, of Psychology and Education, the University of Geneva is structured in various faculties which are representing teaching, research and service to society in the various disciplines. Founded in 1876, ranked one of the top 100 medical schools in the world and it is one of the larger faculties of the University of Geneva in terms of budget and number of employees. Notable research areas include neuroscience, genetics, and transplantation and it is closely associated with Switzerlands largest hospital complex, the University Hospitals of Geneva. Since 1981, the Faculty of Medicine is located in the buildings of CMU in Champel, the faculty of Humanities and Arts has various departments and research centers. GSEM is a new faculty and exists since January 2014, the creation of the GSEM faculty is a result of a merger between two former departments, Economics and HEC. Students of the GSEM Faculty benefit from a degree in English. This new curriculum is in place since fall 2015, the GSEM counts more than 1.700 students and 200 lecturers. The Executive Education counts more than 1.500 participants and over 45 programs (including an Executive MBA, a number of research institutes provide avenues for graduate studies at Master’s and Doctoral levels. The Faculty Geneva School of Social Sciences, was founded on 1 January 2014, the faculty was created in 1890
12.
Swiss Federal Council
–
While the entire council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland, each Councillor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. The position of Federal President rotates among the seven Councillors on a yearly basis, when the Constitution was written, constitutional democracy was still in its infancy, and the founding fathers of Switzerland had little in the way of examples. While they drew heavily on the U. S, Constitution for the organisation of the federal state as a whole, they opted for the collegial rather than the presidential system for the executive branch of government. This accommodated the long tradition of the rule of collective bodies in Switzerland, today, only three other states, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andorra and San Marino, have collective rather than unitary heads of state. However the collegial system of government has found widespread adoption in modern democracies in the form of government with collective responsibility. Nonetheless, some significant developments deserve to be mentioned here, the 1848 Constitution was one of the few successes of the Europe-wide democratic revolutions of 1848. In Switzerland, the movement was led – and the new federal state decisively shaped – by the Radicals. After winning the Sonderbund War against the Catholic cantons, the Radicals at first used their majority in the Federal Assembly to fill all the seats on the Federal Council and this made their former war opponents, the Catholic-Conservatives, the opposition party. Only after Emil Weltis resignation in 1891 after a referendum on railway nationalisation did the Radicals decide to co-opt the Conservatives by supporting the election of Josef Zemp. The process of involving all political movements of Switzerland into the responsibility of government continued during the first half of the 20th century. It was hastened by the FDPs and CVPs gradually diminishing voter shares and these were the Social Democratic Party on the Left and the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents on the Right. In due course, the CVP received its seat in 1919 with Jean-Marie Musy. In 1943, during World War II, the Social Democrats were also included with Ernst Nobs. During that time, the FDP and CVP very slowly but steadily kept losing voter share to the SVP and SP, respectively, which overtook the older parties in popularity during the 1990s. The governmental balance was changed after the 2003 elections, when the SVP was granted a Council seat for their leader Christoph Blocher that had belonged to the CVPs Ruth Metzler. This led to a split of the SVP in 2008, the SVP regained its second seat on the Council in 2015, when Widmer-Schlumpf decided to resign after the SVPs large election gains in the 2015 election, being replaced by Guy Parmelin. Women gained suffrage on the level in 1971. They remained unrepresented in the Federal Council for three legislatures, until the 1984 election of Elisabeth Kopp
13.
Canton of Geneva
–
The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French-speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons, this canton is referred to as a republic within the Swiss Confederation, the canton of Geneva is located in the southwestern corner of Switzerland, and is considered one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the country. As a center of the Calvinist Reformation, the city of Geneva has had a influence on the canton. The Republic of Geneva was proclaimed in 1541, under John Calvin, the Republic of Geneva reinforced its alliance to the Protestant cantons of the Swiss Confederacy, becoming an everlasting ally in 1584. The French Revolution reached Geneva in 1792, and in February 1794, after the death of Robespierre in July of the same year, there was a counter-revolution, which gained the upper hand by 1796. This prompted the French invasion of 1798, and the annexation of Geneva as part of the French département du Léman, Geneva finally joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815 as the 22nd canton, having been enlarged by French and Savoyard territories at the Vienna Congress. The area of the canton of Geneva is 282 square kilometers, the canton is surrounded on almost all sides by France and bordered by the Swiss canton of Vaud on northeast. The adjoining French départements are Ain and Haute-Savoie, the current boundaries of the canton were established in 1815. There are 45 municipalities in the canton, Geneva does not have any administrative districts. There are 10 cities with a population of over 10,000 as of 2007, Genève, Vernier, Lancy, Meyrin, Carouge, Onex, Thônex, Versoix, Grand-Saconnex, Chêne-Bougeries. The constitution of the canton was established in 1847, and has, the cantonal government has seven members who are elected for four years. The legislature, the Grand Council, has 100 seats, with deputies elected for four years at a time, the last elecation was held on 7 October 2013. In a similar way to what happens at the Federal level, in addition, any law can be subject to a referendum if it is demanded by 7,000 persons entitled to vote, and 10,000 persons may also propose a new law. The republique and canton of Geneva has 11 seats in the National Council, on 18 October 2015, in the federal election the most popular party was the The Liberals which received three seats with 20. 5% of the votes. In the federal election, a total of 106,852 votes were cast, and she is part of the Council of States since 2007. Councilor Robert Cramer, member of the Green Party, was re-elected in the round with a majority of 42,075 votes. He is part of the Council of States since 2007, ^a FDP before 2009, FDP. The Liberals after 2009 ^b * indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. ^c Part of the FDP for this election ^d Part of the SD for this election The population of the canton is 484,736, as of 2013, the population included 194,623 foreigners from 187 different nations, or about 40. 1% of the total population
14.
Switzerland as a federal state
–
The constitution represents the first time that the Swiss were governed by a strong central government instead of being simply a collection of independent cantons bound by treaties. In 1847, the period of Swiss history known as Restoration ended with the out of a war between the conservative Roman Catholic and the liberal Protestant cantons. The conflict between the Catholic and Protestant cantons had existed since the Reformation, and in the 19th century the Protestant population now had a majority, when Lucerne, in retaliation, recalled the Jesuits the same year, groups of armed radicals invaded the canton. This caused a revolt, mostly because rural cantons were strongholds of ultramontanism, the confederate army was raised against the members of the Sonderbund. The army was composed of soldiers of all the states except Neuchâtel. Ticino, while a Catholic canton, did not join the Sonderbund, the war lasted for less than a month, causing fewer than 100 casualties. Apart from small riots, this was the last armed conflict on Swiss territory, at the end of the Sonderbund War, the Diet began to debate a new federal constitution drawn up by Johann Conrad Kern of Thurgau and Henri Druey of Vaud. In the summer of 1848 this constitution was accepted by fifteen, the new constitution was declared on 12 September 1848. The new constitution created, for the first time, Swiss citizenship in addition to cantonal citizenship, a federal central government was set up to which the cantons gave up certain parts of their sovereign rights, retaining the rest. The Federal Council or executive consisted of seven elected by the Federal Assembly. In the 1848 Constitution, the entire Federal Council was granted the supreme executive, each member of the Federal Council heads one of seven executive departments. The chairman of the Council also holds the title of President of the Swiss Confederation for a one-year term, the judiciary was made up of eleven members elected for three years by the Federal Assembly. The Bundesgericht was chiefly confined to cases in which the Confederation was a party. All constitutional questions are however reserved for the Federal Assembly, a Federal university and a polytechnic school were to be founded. All military capitulations were forbidden in the future, all cantons were required to treat Swiss citizens who belonged to one of the Christian confessions like their own citizens. Previously, citizens of one canton regarded citizens of the others as the citizens of foreign countries, all Christians were guaranteed the exercise of their religion but the Jesuits and similar religious orders were not to be received in any canton. German, French and Italian were recognized as national languages, although there was now a fully organized central government, Switzerland was a very decentralized federation. Most authority remained with the cantons, including all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government, one of the first acts of the Federal Assembly was to exercise the power given them of determining the home of the Federal authorities, and on 28 November 1848 Bern was chosen
15.
History of the Jews in Switzerland
–
History of the Jews in Switzerland reaches back at least a thousand years. Jews and Judaism have been present in the territory of what is now Switzerland since before the emergence of the medieval Old Swiss Confederacy in the 15th century, Switzerland has Europes tenth-largest Jewish community, with about 17,500 Jews, roughly 0. 2% of the population. About one-third of the Jewish community lives in the Zürich metropolitan area, as of 2009, there were 38 synagogues in the country. The first World Zionist Congress of 1897 was held in Basel, whereas the communities of Basel and Zürich are traditionally shaped by large Ashkenazi communities, Geneva also hosts an important Sephardic community. Its main synagogue, the Synagogue Hekhal Haness, is considered to be the most important Sephardic synagogue in the whole of Europe, a ring with a Menorah depiction found in Augusta Raurica in 2001 attests to Hebrew presence in Germania Superior. The Encyclopaedia Judaica mentioned a first documentation in 1214, another pogrom occurred among other cities in Zürich in 1249, at the location of the former synagogue at Froschaugasse 4 in the former Neumarkt quarter, a plaque was mounted. Jews were banished from Swiss towns in the 1620s, and from 1776, at the close of the 18th century, the 553 Jews in these villages represented almost the entire Jewish population in Switzerland. An important source for the situation of Swiss Jews in the 18th century is the 1768 Sammlung Jüdischer Geschichten by Johann Caspar Ulrich. Beginning in 1603, the deceased Jews of the Surbtal communities were buried on a small Rhein river island, as the island was repeatedly flooded and devastated, in 1750 the Surbtal Jews asked the Tagsatzung to establish a cemetery in the vicinity of their communities in the Surb valley. Once a year, the chevra kadisha visited the graves on the island. In 1750 the Tagsatzung allowed the Jewish communities of Endingen and Lengnau to acquire woodland on a hill between Endingen and Lengnau to establish the Endingen cemetery. In accordance with the resolution of the Tagsatzung in 1678, Jews were allowed to settle in the communities of the Surb valley, after 1776, they were further restricted to living in only Endingen and Lengnau. This immigration slowly but steadily changed the appearance of the communities, the village of Endingen never built a Christian church, only a Jewish synagogue. The local Christians traveled to neighboring villages for church, Jewish and Christian families were often under one roof. However, the Jewish resident were only allowed to enter a few professions, houses were built with two separate entrances, one for Jews and one for Christians. They were under the high and low courts of the Baden bailiff and had to buy protection, in 1798, the French under Napoleon I invaded Switzerland and set up the Helvetic Republic. The Republic attempted to modernize and centralize the Swiss Confederation, as part of this new, liberal state, Swiss reformers attempted to enforce the emancipation of the Jews in the new central Swiss Parliament in Aarau. When that failed, they attempted to get the French to force change on the new Swiss government
16.
Cooperation
–
Cooperation is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common or mutual benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal and plant species cooperate both with members of their own species and with members of other species. Language allows humans to cooperate on a large scale. Certain studies have suggested that fairness affects human cooperation, individuals are willing to punish at their own cost if they believe that they are being treated unfairly. Sanfey, et al. conducted an experiment where 19 individuals were scanned using MRI while playing a game in the role of the responder. They received offers from human partners and from a computer partner. Responders refused unfair offers from human partners at a higher rate than those from a computer partner. The experiment also suggested that altruistic punishment is associated with emotions that are generated in unfair situations by the anterior insula of the brain. It has been observed that image scoring promotes cooperative behavior in situations where direct reciprocity is unlikely, in situations where reputation and status are involved, humans tend to cooperate more. This behavior appears, however, to occur mostly between relatives, spending time and resources assisting a related individual may at first seem destructive to the organism’s chances of survival but is actually beneficial over the long-term. Some researchers assert that cooperation is more complex than this and they maintain that helpers may receive more direct, and less indirect, gains from assisting others than is commonly reported. Furthermore, they insist that cooperation may not solely be an interaction between two individuals but may be part of the goal of unifying populations. One specific form of cooperation in animals is kin selection, which can be defined as animals helping to rear a relative’s offspring in order to enhance their own fitness, different theories explaining kin selection have been proposed, including the pay-to-stay and territory inheritance hypotheses. The pay-to-stay theory suggests that individuals help others rear offspring in order to return the favor of the breeders allowing them to live on their land, the territory inheritance theory contends that individuals help in order to have improved access to breeding areas once the breeders depart. These two hypotheses both appear to be valid, at least in cichlid fish, studies conducted on red wolves support previous researchers contention that helpers obtain both immediate and long-term gains from cooperative breeding. Researchers evaluated the consequences of red wolves’ decisions to stay with their packs for extended periods of time after birth and it was found that this delayed dispersal, while it involved helping other wolves rear their offspring, extended male wolves’ life spans. These findings suggest that kin selection may not only benefit an individual in the long-term in terms of increased fitness, some research even suggests that certain species provide more help to the individuals with which they are more closely related. This phenomenon is known as kin discrimination and they found that different species exhibited varying degrees of kin discrimination, with the largest frequencies occurring among those who have the most to gain from cooperative interactions
17.
Bern
–
The city of Bern or Berne is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their Bundesstadt, or federal city. With a population of 141,762, Bern is the fourth-most populous city in Switzerland, the Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000, Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerlands cantons. The official language in Bern is German, but the language is an Alemannic Swiss German dialect. In 1983, the old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is ranked among the top ten cities for the best quality of life. The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain and it has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin. The bear was the animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s. No archaeological evidence that indicates a settlement on the site of city centre prior to the 12th century has been found so far. In antiquity, a Celtic oppidum stood on the Engehalbinsel north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC, during the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name Brenodor, in the Early Middle Ages, a settlement in Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, was some 4 km from the medieval city. The medieval city is a foundation of the Zähringer ruling family, according to 14th-century historiography, Bern was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made an imperial city by the Goldene Handfeste of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the period of 1353 to 1481. The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the Christoffelturm until 1622, during the time of the Thirty Years War, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small Schanze – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula
18.
National Council (Switzerland)
–
The National Council is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the National Council is the larger of the two houses, adult citizens elect the councils members, who are called National Councillors for four year terms. These members are apportioned to the Swiss cantons in proportion to their population, both houses meet in the Federal Palace of Switzerland in Berne. With 200 members, the National Council is the house of the Swiss legislature. When the Swiss federation was founded in 1848, the number of seats was not yet fixed, according to the provisions of the federal constitution at that time, a canton was to receive one National Council member for every 20,000 citizens. Thus, the first National Council, which met in 1848, had 111 members, in 1963, the number of members was fixed at 200. The division of the seats between the individual cantons is determined by each percentage of the national population, as revealed in the national census. A change in the division of the seats occurred in 2003, every canton is entitled to at least one seat in the National Council. Elections are held for the National Council every four years by the Swiss people, the most recent election took place on Sunday,18 October 2015. Since a popular initiative in 1918, elections have been by proportional representation, since 1971 women have been entitled to vote and stand in National Council elections. There is a proviso that each canton is entitled to at least one seat, the number of seats given to the cantons which are entitled to more than one seat is determined using the largest remainder method. Cantons which can are only entitled to send one councillor to the National Council, the cantons use a unique system of proportional representation, sometimes called a free list. Each citizen may cast as many votes as there are available to their constituency. For every vote received by a candidate, that candidates party also receives a vote, voters also list a party vote, in which all blank candidate votes contribute towards the parties total. In elections, political parties publish lists in the cantons with their candidates, each list contains at most the number of candidates which the canton is entitled to send to the National Council. It is possible for one or more candidates to be listed twice, in addition, each party can produce multiple lists to the canton. It is also possible for parties to enter a single shared list. Voters are entitled to choose a party list without making changes or they can alter it by cumulative voting or panachage
19.
Francis Matthey
–
Francis Matthey is Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, best known for declining the election to the Swiss Federal Council on 3 March 1993. Matthey was elected instead of the candidate of his party. To follow the resolution of the party to enable the election of woman to the Federal Council, ruth Dreifuss was finally elected to succeed René Felber. Matthey was mayor of the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds, member of the Swiss National Council, profile of Francis Matthey with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council. Biography of Francis Matthey on the website of the Swiss Parliament
20.
Social security
–
In simple terms, the signatories agree that society in which a person lives should help them to develop and to make the most of all the advantages which are offered to them in the country. Services providing social security are often called social services, terminology in this area in the United States is somewhat different from in the rest of the English-speaking world. The general term for a program in support of the well being of the population in the United States is welfare program. In American society, the term welfare arguably has negative connotations, the term Social Security, in the United States, refers to a specific social insurance program for the retired and the disabled. Elsewhere the term is used in a broader sense, referring to the economic security society offers when people are faced with certain risks. People who cannot reach a guaranteed social minimum for other reasons may be eligible for social assistance, modern authors often consider the ILO approach too narrow. Social security may refer to, social insurance, where people receive benefits or services in recognition of contributions to an insurance program and these services typically include provision for retirement pensions, disability insurance, survivor benefits and unemployment insurance. Services provided by government or designated agencies responsible for social security provision, in different countries, that may include medical care, financial support during unemployment, sickness, or retirement, health and safety at work, aspects of social work and even industrial relations. Basic security irrespective of participation in specific insurance programs where eligibility may otherwise be an issue, for instance, assistance given to newly arrived refugees for basic necessities such as food, clothing, housing, education, money, and medical care. A report published by the ILO in 2014 estimated that only 27% of the population has access to comprehensive social security. While several of the provisions to which the concept refers have a long history, the earliest examples of use date from the 19th century. Trajans program brought acclaim from many, including Pliny the Younger, in Jewish tradition, charity is a matter of religious obligation rather than benevolence. Voluntary charity, along with prayer and repentance, is befriended to ameliorate the consequences of bad acts, the Song dynasty government supported multiple forms of social assistance programs, including the establishment of retirement homes, public clinics, and paupers graveyards. According to economist Robert Henry Nelson, The medieval Roman Catholic Church operated a far-reaching, the taxes collected in the treasury of an Islamic government were used to provide income for the needy, including the poor, elderly, orphans, widowed persons, and the disabled. According to the Islamic jurist Al-Ghazali, the government was expected to store up food supplies in every region in case a disaster or famine occurred. There is relatively little data on transfer payments before the High Middle Ages. In the medieval period and until the Industrial Revolution, the function of welfare payments in Europe was principally achieved through private giving or charity, in those early times, there was a much broader group considered to be in poverty as compared to the 21st century. Early welfare programs in Europe included the English Poor Law of 1601 and this system was substantially modified by the 19th-century Poor Law Amendment Act, which introduced the system of workhouses
21.
Collegiality
–
Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a purpose and respecting each others abilities to work toward that purpose. A colleague is an associate in a profession or in a civil or ecclesiastical office, thus, the word collegiality can connote respect for anothers commitment to the common purpose and ability to work toward it. In a narrower sense, members of the faculty of a university or college are each others colleagues, sometimes colleague is taken to mean a fellow member of the same profession. Sociologists of organizations use the word collegiality in a technical sense, more recently, authors such as Eliot Freidson, Malcolm Waters and Emmanuel Lazega have shown that collegiality can now be understood as a full-fledged organizational form. This view of collegiality is obviously different from the ideology of collegiality stressing mainly trust. In the Roman Republic, collegiality was the practice of having at least two people, and always a number, in each magistrate position of the Roman Senate. Reasons were to power and responsibilities among several people, both to prevent the rise of another king and to ensure more productive magistrates. Examples of Roman collegiality include the two consuls and censors, six praetors, eight quaestors, four aediles, ten tribunes and decemviri, etc. In the Roman Catholic Church, collegiality refers primarily to the Pope governing the Church in collaboration with the bishops of the local Churches and this had been the practice of the early Church and was revitalized by the Second Vatican Council. One of the changes during the Second Vatican Council was the Councils encouragement of bishops conferences. There has traditionally been an element of collegiality in the governance of universities. These are environments where individual independence of thought and mutual respect are necessary, collegiality is often contrasted with managerialism which has a more hierarchical structure, with professional managers in leading positions. Collegiality in the East and the West in the First millennium, a Study Based on the Canonical Collections. E-JASL, The Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship 7, no.2
22.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
23.
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
–
The encyclopedia is published by a foundation under the patronage of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Swiss Historical Society and is financed by national research grants. Besides a staff of 35 at the offices, the contributors include 100 academic advisors,2500 historians and 100 translators. The encyclopedia is being edited simultaneously in three languages of Switzerland, German, French and Italian. The first of 13 volumes was published in 2002, the last volume was published in 2014. The 36,000 headings are grouped in, Biographies Articles on families and it makes accessible, for free, all articles ready for publication in print, but no illustrations. It also lists all 36,000 topics that are to be covered, lexicon Istoric Retic is a two volume version with a selection of articles published in Romansh. It includes articles not available in the other languages, the first volume was published in 2010, the second in 2012. An on-line version is also available
24.
Jonas Furrer
–
Jonas Furrer was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council. He was affiliated to the Radical Party, after studying at Zürich, Heidelberg and Göttingen, he was elected to the Grand Council of Switzerland in 1834, where he was president in 1837 and 1839. In 1845 he became president of the diet of Zürich. He was President of the Swiss Diet from 2 April 1845 to 31 December 1845 and he was elected to the Federal Council on 16 November 1848 as one of the seven initial members. Furrer died in office on 25 July 1861 and he wrote Das Erbrecht der Stadt Winterthur. Profile of Jonas Furrer with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council, Jonas Furrer in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
25.
Henri Druey
–
Daniel-Henri Druey was a Swiss politician of the 19th century and a founding father of constitutional democracy in Switzerland. Druey was born in Faoug in the Canton of Vaud, after studying law at the academy in Lausanne he engaged in further study at Heidelberg, Paris and London. When Druey returned to Switzerland, aged 29, he was chosen to sit on the Canton of Vauds Great Council, two years later he became a member of the State Council. Druey was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 16 November 1848 as one of the seven initial members, Druey died in office on 29 March 1855. André Lasserre, Henri Druey in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, profile of Henri Druey with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council
26.
Josef Munzinger
–
Martin Josef Munzinger was a Swiss politician. He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 16 November 1848, Munzinger died in office on 6 February 1855. Hans Haeflinger, Bundesrat Josef Munzinger,1953 Profile of Josef Munzinger with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council, hans-Rudolf Merz, Bundesrat Munzinger, Der Vater des Schweizerfrankens,2005 Josef Munzinger in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Media related to Josef Munzinger at Wikimedia Commons
27.
Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
–
Wilhelm Matthias Naeff was a Swiss politician and one of the seven initial members of the Swiss Federal Council. Naeff was born in Altstätten into a long-established Rhine-Valleys family, already, his father was an influential merchant. Naeff studied law in Heidelberg, and, after his return to Switzerland, Naeff is well known for not intervening in the conflict, which dominated Switzerland at that time, between liberals and conservatives. The Rhine Valley was a stronghold of the liberals, which is why Naeff could depend on his supporters. Naeff was a member of the Siebnergruppe, a group of seven people who, after the Napoleonic occupation, drafted the 1848 constitution of the Swiss Confederation and he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council of ministers on 16 November 1848, as a representative of St. Gallen. He stayed there for 27 years, considerably longer than all of his counterparts from that time, while, in his long term in office, Naeff increasingly lost influence and adhered a reputation as deadhead. He was re-elected by only small margins, on 31 December 1875, he finally resigned. Naeff was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland and he resigned on 31 December 1875. Profile of Wilhelm Matthias Naeff with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council, Wilhelm Matthias Naeff in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Media related to Wilhelm Matthias Naeff at Wikimedia Commons
28.
Karl Schenk
–
Johann Karl Emmanuel Schenk was a Swiss pastor, politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council. As of 2008, he is still the longest-serving member, late in life he became one of the first leaders of the Swiss Red Cross. Schenk was born in 1823 in Bern, Switzerland, as the son of Christian Schenk, at the age of eleven, he became an orphan and lived in Korntal. From 1839 to 1842 he attended school in Bern and then studied theology and he completed his studies at the age of 22. In 1845 he became vicar and later pastor at Schüpfen, in 1848, he married Elise Kähr. The couple had nine children, two of which died at young age and he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 12 December 1863 and died in office 31 years later, on 18 July 1895. He was affiliated with the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, Schenk also served as President of the Swiss Red Cross from 1873-1882. Schenk died 1895 in Bern, and was buried at Bremgartenfriedhof, the local museum of Langnau im Emmental Chüechlihus includes a section on him. Schenkstrasse in Bern is named for him, further, a house at Spitalgasse in Bern is named Karl-Schenk-Haus and its passage Karl-Schenk-Haus-Passage or Karl-Schenk-Passage. Un magistrat républicain, le conseiller fédéral Schenk, profile of Karl Schenk with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council
.jpg)
_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg)
