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The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head 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 ...
's seven-member Federal Council, the country's
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...
. Elected by the Federal Assembly for one year, the officeholder chairs the meetings of the Federal Council and undertakes special representational duties. First among equals, the president of the Confederation has no powers over and above the other six councillors and continues to head the assigned
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
. Traditionally the duty rotates among the members in order of seniority; the vice president of the Federal Council assumes the presidency the year after the officeholder's tenure. The president of the Confederation is not the
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
because the entire Federal Council is the collective head of state. The constitutional provisions relating to the organisation of the Federal Government and federal administration are set out in ''Section 1 Organisation and Procedure'' of ''Chapter 3 Federal Council and Federal Administration'' of the ''Title 5 Federal Authorities'' of the
Swiss Federal Constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...
at articles 174 to 179. Article 176 specifically relates to the presidency.


Competencies

The Swiss president is not – as are, for example, the presidents in Austria or Germany – the
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of the country: under the
Swiss Federal Constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...
, the Federal Council doubles as a collective head of state and head of government. When a tied vote occurs in the council (which may happen, since on the one hand abstention is permitted, and on the other hand a meeting of the council can take place without all members present), his or her vote is worth double. In addition to the control of his or her own department, the president carries out some of the representative duties that are normally carried out by a single head of state in other democracies. For example, since joining the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
, Swiss presidents have on occasion spoken at inaugural sessions of the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
along with other visiting heads of state and government. However, because the Swiss have no single head of state, the country carries out no state visits. When travelling 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 A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...
and other documents of the kind.


Election

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 less influential members of the government were regularly passed over. One such example was
Wilhelm Matthias Naeff Wilhelm Matthias Naeff (19 February 1802 – 21 January 1881) was a Swiss politician and one of the seven initial members of the Swiss Federal Council (1848–1875). Naeff was born in Altstätten into a long-established Rhine-Valley's family. Al ...
, who – although a member of the Federal Council for 27 years – was federal president only once, in 1853. Since the twentieth century, the election has usually not been disputed. There is an unwritten 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 (of 246 possible) 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 their year in office.


Vice-President of the Federal Council

A Vice-President of the Federal Council is elected alongside the President of the Swiss Confederation; customarily, the elected Vice-President is the member of the Federal Council who is expected to become President the following year. However, as for the choice of President, this rule is unwritten. The only formal rule, as specified in article 176 of the Swiss Constitution, is that the President can not be elected as either President or Vice-President for the following year.


See also

*
List of presidents of the Swiss Confederation Below is a list of presidents of the Swiss Confederation (1848–present). It presents the presiding member of the Swiss Federal Council, the country's seven-member executive. Elected by the Federal Assembly for one year, the President of the ...
*
Chancellor of Switzerland The Federal Chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Counci ...


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Government of Switzerland
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 ...
1848 establishments in Switzerland
Swiss Confederation ). 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 ...