Green Party of Switzerland
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The Green Party of Switzerland (german: GRÜNE Schweiz; french: Les VERT-E-S suisses; it, VERDI svizzeri; rm, VERDA svizra) is the fourth-largest party in the
National Council of Switzerland The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, th ...
and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.


History

The first
Green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
in Switzerland was founded as a local party in 1971 in the town of Neuchâtel. In 1979,
Daniel Brélaz Daniel Brélaz (born 4 January 1950, in Lausanne) is a Swiss mathematician and politician, member of the Green Party of Switzerland and mayor of Lausanne between 2001 and 2016. In 1979, Daniel Brélaz became the first green representative el ...
was elected to the National Council as the first Green MP on the national level (in Switzerland and in the world). Local and regional Green parties and organisations were founded in many different towns and
cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
in the following years. In 1983, two different national green party federations were created: in May, diverse local green groups came together in Fribourg to form the ''Federation of Green Parties of Switzerland'', and in June, some left-alternative groups formed the ''Green Alternative Party of Switzerland'' in Bern. In 1990, an attempt to combine these organisations failed. Afterward, some of the member groups from the ''Green Alternative Party'' joined the ''Federation of Green Parties'' which has become the ''de facto'' national Green party. In 1993, the ''Federation of Green Parties'' changed its name to the ''Green Party of Switzerland''. In 1986, the first two Green members of a cantonal government become members of the ''Regierungsrat'' of Bern. In 1987, the Green Party of Switzerland joined the
European Federation of Green Parties European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
. In the 1990s, members of the Green Party became town mayors, members of the high court and even president of a cantonal government (
Verena Diener Verena Diener (born 27 March 1949 in Winterthur) is a Swiss politician. A member of the Green Liberal Party of Switzerland she represented the canton of Zürich in the National Council from 1987 to 1998 and in the Council of States from 2007 t ...
in 1999). In 2007, the centrist wing of the party split away and formed the
Green Liberal Party of Switzerland The Green Liberal Party of Switzerland (german: Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz, glp; french: Parti vert'libéral, pvl), abbreviated to glp, is a centrist green-liberal political party in Switzerland. Founded in 2007, the party holds sixteen s ...
.


Policies

The traditional emphases of the party's policies lie in
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
and green means of transportation. In terms of foreign policy, the greens set out on the course of openness and
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
. In economic policy, the greens are
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
. The majority of greens support an accession of
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 ...
to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. In immigration policy, the greens support further integration initiatives for immigrants. The greens support measures to increase energy efficiency, oppose
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
, and support raising energy and fuel prices. According to their policy, the resulting revenues should be allocated to
social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
spending.


Popular support


National Council and Council of States

On the national level, in 2003 the Green Party was not represented in the Council of States or Federal Council. In 2007, two Green Party members were elected to the Council of States. By 2005, the party held 3.8 percent of the seats in the Swiss cantonal executive governments and 6.9 percent in the Swiss cantonal parliaments (index "BADAC", weighted with the population and number of seats). In 2007, the Green Party was represented in the governments of the cantons
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
,
Basel-City Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as ...
,
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
(two ministers), Neuchâtel, Nidwalden,
Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
,
Zug , neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri , twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina) Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
(two ministers) and Zurich.


Party strength over time

:1.* indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. :2.Part of the Canton of Bern until 1979.


Party presidents

This is an incomplete list of the presidents of the Green Party since 1990: *
Irène Gardiol Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...
(1990-1992) *
Verena Diener Verena Diener (born 27 March 1949 in Winterthur) is a Swiss politician. A member of the Green Liberal Party of Switzerland she represented the canton of Zürich in the National Council from 1987 to 1998 and in the Council of States from 2007 t ...
(1992-1995) * Hanspeter Thur (1995-1997) * Ruedi Baumann (1997-2001) * Patrice Mugny (co-president; 2001-2004) *
Ruth Genner Ruth Genner (born 13 January 1956) is a Swiss politician. She was a member of the government of the city of Zürich (2008–2014), a member of the Swiss National Council (1998–2008) and leader of the Green Party of Switzerland (2001–2008). G ...
(2001–2008; co-president until 2004) * Ueli Leuenberger (2008–2012) *
Adèle Thorens Goumaz Adèle Thorens Goumaz (born on 15 December 1971 in Solothurn) is a Swiss politician. She has been a member of the Council of States since December 2019. Previously, she served in the National Council of Switzerland from the Canton of Vaud fr ...
(co-president; 2012–2016) *
Regula Rytz Regula Rytz (born 2 March 1962) is a Swiss historian and politician of the Green Party of Switzerland. She was a member of the National Council from 2011 to 2022. From 2012 to 2016, she was the co-president of the Green Party of Switzerland. Sh ...
(2012–2020; co-president until 2016) *
Balthasar Glättli Balthasar Glättli (born 12 February 1972) is a Swiss politician. He is a member of the National Council and, since June 2020, the president of the Green Party of Switzerland. Political career Glättli joined the Green Party of Switzerland ...
(2020–present)


See also

*
Green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
*
Green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...
*
Environmental movement in Switzerland The environmental movement in Switzerland is represented by a wide range of associations (non-governmental organisations). The article also present green politics and Environmental policy, environmental policies of Switzerland. Organisation ...
*
List of environmental organizations An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces. In this sense the environmen ...


Notes and references


External links


Official website

Official website

Official website

Swiss Greens International
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Party Of Switzerland Green political parties in Switzerland Non-interventionist parties
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 ...
Swiss Climate Alliance