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
.jpg)
_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg)
