The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so named since 1979, is one of the seven Departments of the Swiss government

federal administration of Switzerland The federal administration of Switzerland (german: Bundesverwaltung, french: Administration fédérale, it, Amministrazione federale, rm, Administraziun federala) is the ensemble of agencies that constitute, together with the Swiss Federa ...

, and corresponds in its range of tasks to the

ministry of foreign affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

in other countries. The department is always headed by one of the members of the Swiss Federal Council. As of 1 November 2017, the department is headed by

Federal Councillor The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governm ...

Ignazio Cassis.

Former names

* 1848–1887: Federal Political Department * 1888–1895: Federal Department of the Exterior * 1896–1978: Federal Political Department

Mission

The mission of the FDFA is to safeguard Switzerland's interests abroad and its relations with other countries. It does so by means of Swiss Foreign Policy, whose objectives have been laid down in Art. 54 para. 2 of the Federal Constitution (BV) as follows:

The Confederation shall strive to preserve the independence of Switzerland and its welfare; it shall, in particular, contribute to alleviate need and poverty in the world, and to promote respect for human rights, democracy, the peaceful coexistence of nations and the preservation of natural resources.

The priorities of Swiss Foreign Policy for the years 2012–2015 include: * Fostering and cultivating Swiss relations with its neighbouring countries and the European Union (EU); * Strengthening Switzerland's commitment to stability in Europe and in the world; * Intensifying and diversifying strategic partnerships and Switzerland's multilateral commitment; and * Enhancing the support and offering of services provided to Swiss citizens abroad. Originally it was the rotating Swiss president who headed the "Political Department" (PD) for a one-year term. In 1888, the department was restructured by Numa Droz, who straight away headed the department for five years. In 1896, the Federal Council returned to the original system with a federal councillor heading the department only for a given one-year term. The one-year limitation was abandoned in 1914. Since 1979, the department has retained the name by which it still goes today.

Organization

* General Secretariat ** Presence SwitzerlandPresence Switzerland
/ref> * State Secretariat ** Presidential Affairs and Protocol ** Crisis Management Centre * Directorate of Political Affairs ** Europe, Central Asia, Council of Europe, OSCE Division ** Middle East and North Africa Division ** Subsaharan Africa and Francophonie Division if ** Asia and the Pacific Division ** Americas Division ** United Nations and International Organisations ** Human Security Division ** Sectoral Foreign Policy Division ** Division for Security Policy * Directorate of European Affairs, DEA * Directorate of Corporate Resources (DR) * Consular Directorate CD * Directorate of International Law DIL *

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is an office-level agency in the federal administration of Switzerland, and a part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Together with other federal offices, SDC is responsible for ...

(SDC)

List of heads of department

References

External links

www.eda.admin.ch

Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland

{{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Department Of Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...