Swiss Federal Council 218299 225272829 2008-07-12T20:39:47Z 85.2.100.198 {{Infobox Political Post | post = Federal Council | body = Switzerland | insignia = Swiss Federal Council seal.gif | insigniasize = 200px | insigniacaption = | image = Bundesrat der Schweiz 2008 Teil 2.JPG | incumbent = [[Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf]] <br> [[Moritz Leuenberger]] <br> [[Micheline Calmy-Rey]] <br> [[Pascal Couchepin]] <br> [[Samuel Schmid]] <br> [[Doris Leuthard]] <br> [[Hans-Rudolf Merz]] <br> <small>Federal Chancellor [[Corina Casanova]] also pictured</small> | formation = [[1848]] | inaugural = 12 December 2007 | appointer = [[Swiss Federal Assembly]] | termlength = 4 years | website = [http://www.admin.ch/br/org/index.html?lang=en www.admin.ch] }} <!-- Seal of the Swiss Federal Council, used under fair use--> The '''Swiss Federal Council''' ({{lang-de|Schweizerischer Bundesrat}}, {{lang-fr|Conseil fédéral suisse}}, {{lang-it|Consiglio federale svizzero}}, {{lang-rm|Cussegl federal svizzer}}) is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal [[government]] of [[Switzerland]] and serves as the Swiss collective [[head of state]]. While the entire council is responsible for leading the [[federal administration of Switzerland]], each Councillor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. The current members of the Federal Council are, in order of seniority: *[[Moritz Leuenberger]] ([[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|SP]]), [[Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications]] *[[Pascal Couchepin]] ([[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|FDP]]), [[Federal Department of Home Affairs (Switzerland)|Federal Department of Home Affairs]], [[President of the Swiss Confederation]] for 2008 *[[Samuel Schmid]] ([[Civic Democratic Party of Switzerland|BDP]]),<ref>{{De icon}} {{cite news|url=http://tagesschau.sf.tv/nachrichten/archiv/2008/06/28/schweiz/schmid_geht_offiziell_zur_bdp|title=Schmid geht offiziell zur BDP|date=2008-06-28|publisher=[[Schweizer Fernsehen]]|accessdate=2008-07-09}}</ref> [[Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports]] *[[Micheline Calmy-Rey]] ([[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|SPS]]), [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs]] *[[Hans-Rudolf Merz]] ([[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|FDP]]), [[Federal Department of Finance]], Vice-President of the Federal Council in 2008 *[[Doris Leuthard]] ([[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|CVP]]), [[Federal Department of Economic Affairs]] *[[Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf]] ([[Civic Democratic Party of Switzerland|BDP]]),<ref name="SF2008">{{cite news|title=SVP Graubünden mit neuem Namen|publisher=[[Schweizer Fernsehen|SF]]|url=http://tagesschau.sf.tv/content/view/full/237710|date=16 June 2008|language=German}}</ref> [[Federal Department of Justice and Police]]. {{Politics of Switzerland}} == Origins and history of the Federal Council == === Origins of the institution === The Federal Council was instituted by the 1848 [[Swiss Federal Constitution|Federal Constitution]] as the "supreme executive and directorial authority of the Confederation".<ref>[http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a174.html Cst. art. 174]</ref> When the Constitution was written, [[constitutional democracy]] was still in its infancy, and the [[Founding Fathers#Swiss Confederation|founding fathers of Switzerland]] had little in the way of examples. While they drew heavily on the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]] for the organisation of the federal state as a whole, they opted for the [[Collegiality|collegial]] rather than the [[president]]ial system for the executive branch of government. This accommodated the long tradition of the rule of collective bodies in Switzerland. Under the ''[[Ancien Régime of Switzerland|Ancien Régime]]'', the [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] had been governed by councils of pre-eminent citizens since time immemorial, and the later [[Helvetic Republic]] (with its equivalent [[Directorate]]<ref>See: {{HDS|26424|Directorate}}</ref>) as well as the cantons that had given themselves liberal constitutions since the 1830s had also had good experiences with that mode of governance.<ref>{{HDS|10347-1-538|Departments: Development on the Federal Level}} {{HDS|10093|Collegial System}}</ref> Today, only two other states, [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and [[San Marino]] have [[Head of state#Multiple or collective Heads of State| collective]] rather than unitary heads of state. The collegial system of government found widespread adoption in modern [[democracy|democracies]] in the form of cabinet government with collective responsibility. === Changes in composition === The 1848 constitutional provision providing for the Federal Council — and indeed the institution of the Council itself — has remained unchanged to this day, even though Swiss society has changed profoundly since. The Federal Council thus represents one of the longest traditions of continuous democratic government in the world, comparable to that of the offices of the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] or the [[U.S. President]]. Nonetheless, some significant developments deserve to be mentioned here. ==== Party representation ==== ===== Free Democratic hegemony, 1848–1891 ===== {{see also|Switzerland as a federal state}} The 1848 Constitution was one of the few successes of the democratic [[revolutions of 1848]]. In Switzerland, the democratic movement was led — and the new federal state decisively shaped — by the ''Radicals'' (presently the [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Free Democratic Party]], FDP). After winning the [[Sonderbundskrieg]], the Swiss [[civil war]], against the Catholic cantons, the Radicals at first used their majority in the [[Swiss Federal Assembly|Federal Assembly]] to fill all the seats on the Federal Council. This made their former war opponents, the ''Catholic-Conservatives'' (presently the [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|Christian Democratic People's Party]], CVP), the [[opposition party]]. Only after [[Emil Welti]]'s resignation in 1891 after a failed referendum on [[Swiss Federal Railways|railway]] [[nationalisation]] did the Radicals decide to [[co-optation|co-opt]] the Conservatives by supporting the election of [[Josef Zemp]]. ===== Emerging coalition government, 1891–1959 ===== The process of involving all major political movements of Switzerland into the responsibility of government continued during the first half of the 20th century. It was hastened by the FDP's and CVP's gradually diminishing voter shares, complemented by the rise of new parties of lesser power at the ends of the [[political spectrum]]. These were the [[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|Social Democratic Party]] (SP) on the [[Left-wing|Left]] and the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents (BGB; presently the [[Swiss People's Party|People's Party]], SVP) on the [[Right-wing|Right]]. In due course, the CVP received its second seat in 1919 with [[Jean-Marie Musy]], while the BGB joined the Council in 1929 with [[Rudolf Minger]]. In 1943, during [[World War II]], the Social Democrats were also temporarily included with [[Ernst Nobs]]. =====Grand coalition, 1959–2008 ===== {{main|Magic formula}} The 1959 elections, following the resignation of four Councillors, finally established the ''[[Zauberformel]]'', the "magical formula" that determined the Council's composition during the rest of the 20th century and established the long-standing nature of the Council as a permanent, voluntary [[grand coalition]].<ref name="zaubeformel">{{HDS|10097|Zauberformel}}</ref> In approximate relation to the parties' respective strength in the Federal Assembly, the seats were distributed as follows: * [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP): 2 members, * [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|Christian Democratic People's Party]] (CVP): 2 members, * [[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|Social Democratic Party]] (SP): 2 members, and * [[Swiss People's Party]] (SVP): 1 member. During that time, the FDP and CVP very slowly but steadily kept losing voter share to the SVP and SPS, respectively, which overtook the older parties in popularity during the 1990s. =====End of the grand coalition, 2008 ===== :{{main|Swiss Federal Council election, 2007}} The governmental balance was finally upset after the 2003 elections, when the now-powerful SVP was granted a Council seat for their leader [[Christoph Blocher]] that had formerly belonged to the CVP's [[Ruth Metzler]]. However, due to controversies surrounding his conduct in office, a narrow Assembly majority did not reelect Blocher in 2007 and chose instead [[Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf]], a more liberal SVP politician, against the wishes of her party. This led to a split of the SVP in 2008. After liberal regional SVP groups including Federal Councillors Widmer-Schlumpf and [[Samuel Schmid]] founded a new [[Civic Democratic Party of Switzerland|Civic Party]], the SVP was left in opposition for the first time since 1929. ==== Women on the council ==== Women, who gained [[Women's suffrage|suffrage]] on the federal level in 1971, remain poorly represented on the Council. In 1983, the non-election of the first official female candidate, [[Lilian Uchtenhagen]] and again in 1993 the non-election of [[Christiane Brunner]] (both SP/PS), caused a stir. The Social Democrats each time considered withdrawing from the Council altogether.<ref name="zaubeformel">{{HDS|10097|Zauberformel}}</ref> In total, only six out of 109 Councillors (or out of 27 Councillors elected since 1971) have been women: *The first woman Councillor, [[Elisabeth Kopp]] (FDP/PRD), elected 1984, had to resign over a scandal in 1989. *[[Ruth Dreifuss]] (SP/PS), served from 1993 to 2002, was the first woman to become President of the Confederation in 1999. *[[Ruth Metzler-Arnold]] (CVP/PDC), served from 1999 to 2003, not re-elected to 2nd term (see above). *[[Micheline Calmy-Rey]] (SP/PS), elected in 2003 and [[Doris Leuthard]] (CVP/PDC), elected in 2006, are in office as of 2007. They were both reelected in December 2007 for a four year term. *[[Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf]] was elected in December 2007. Along with [[Micheline Calmy-Rey|Calmy-Rey]] and [[Doris Leuthard|Leuthard]], the three now form the largest share of council seats occupied by women in the history of the seven-member council. ==== Regional balancing acts ==== Until 1999, the Constitution mandated that no canton could have more than one representative on the Federal Council. Until 1987, the place of origin was used to determine which canton a Federal Councilor was from. After 1987, the place of residence (or, for councilors who were previously members of the Federal Assembly or of a Canton's legislative or executive body, the canton from which they were elected) became the determinant factor.<ref>See {{HDS|10085|Federal Council}}</ref> Nothing prevented candidates from moving to politically expedient cantons, though, and the rule was abandoned in 1999. Since then, the Constitution has mandated an equitable distribution of seats among the cantons and language regions of the country, without setting concrete quotas. Whenever a member resigns, s/he is generally replaced by someone who is not only from the same party, but also the same language region. In 2006, however, [[Joseph Deiss]], a [[French language|French]] Swiss, resigned and was succeeded by [[Doris Leuthard]], a German-speaking Swiss. Historically, at least two Council seats have always been held by French- or [[Italian language|Italian]]-speaking Swiss, and no canton has in fact ever had more than one of its citizens on the Federal Council. From 2003 to 2007, however, two of the members of the Federal Council, [[Moritz Leuenberger]] and [[Christoph Blocher]], have resided in the [[Canton of Zürich]]. The current language makeup of the Council is five German-speakers and two French-speakers; an Italian-speaker has not served on the Council since 1999. == Operation of the Federal Council == === Presidency === Each year, one of the seven Councillors is elected by the [[Federal Assembly of Switzerland|Federal Assembly]] as ''[[President of the Swiss Confederation|President of the Confederation]]''. The Federal Assembly also elects a Vice President. By convention, the positions of President and Vice President rotate annually, each Councillor thus becoming Vice President and then President every seven years while in office. According to the [[Swiss order of precedence]], the President of the Confederation is the highest-ranking Swiss official. He or she presides over Council meetings and carries out certain representative functions that, in other countries, are the business of the [[Head of State]]. In urgent situations where a Council decision cannot be made in time, he or she is empowered to act on behalf of the whole Council. Apart from that, though, he or she is a ''[[primus inter pares]]'', having no power above and beyond the other six Councillors. The President is not the Swiss [[head of state]] (this function is carried out by the Council ''in corpore'', that is, in its entirety). However, it has recently become usual that the President acts and is recognized as head of state while conducting official visits abroad, as the Council (also by convention) does not leave the country ''in corpore''. More often, though, official visits abroad are carried out by the head of the [[Federal Department of Foreign Affairs]]. Visiting heads of state are received by the Federal Council ''in corpore''. === Council meetings === The Federal Council operates mainly through weekly meetings, which are held each Wednesday at the ''[[Bundeshaus]]'' in [[Bern]], the seat of the Swiss [[Politics of Switzerland|federal government]]. Apart from the seven Councillors, the following officials also attend the meetings: *[[Swiss Federal Chancellor|Federal Chancellor]] [[Corina Casanova]]. As government chief of staff, she participates in the discussion but has no vote in the Council's decisions. Nonetheless, her influential position is often referred to as that of an "eighth Federal Councillor". *the [[Swiss Vice-Chancellor|Vice-Chancellor]]: [[Oswald Sigg]]. Sigg is the [[spokesman]] of the Federal Council and conducts the weekly press briefing after the meeting. After the meetings, the Councillors always take lunch together. The Council also meets regularly in [[wiktionary:Conclave|conclave]] to discuss important topics at length, and annually conducts what is colloquially referred to as its "school excursion", a day trip to some attractions in the President's home [[Cantons of Switzerland|canton]]. In that and other respects, the Council operates not unlike a [[board of directors]] of a major [[corporation]]. === Decisions and responsibilities === Each Federal Councillor heads a government department, much like the [[Minister (government)|minister]]s in the governments of other countries. Colloquially and by the press, they are often referred to as ministers, e.g. the head of the [[Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports|DDPS]] as "minister of defence", even though no such post officially exists. However, as Council members, they are not only responsible for their own department, but also for the business of their colleagues' departments as well, and for the conduct of the government and the federal administration as a whole. Decisions to be taken by the Council are always prepared by the responsible department. For example, a change in the salaries of federal employees would be proposed to the council by the head of the [[Federal Department of Finance]], to whose department the Federal Office of Personnel belongs. Before a vote is taken at a Council meeting, though, all proposals are circulated in writing to the heads of departments, who commission the senior career officials of their department - the heads of the Federal Offices - to prepare a written response to offer criticism and suggestions. This is called the ''co-report procedure'' (''Mitberichtsverfahren''/''procédure de co-rapport''), designed to build a wide consensus ahead of a Council meeting. To prepare for important decisions, an additional public consultation is sometimes conducted, to which the [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]], the [[Political parties of Switzerland|political parties]] and major interest groups are invited, and in which all members of the public can participate. If a change in a federal [[statute]] is to be proposed to the Federal Assembly, this step is mandated by law. In such cases, the consultation procedure also serves to identify political concerns that could later be the focus of a [[Referendum#Switzerland|popular referendum]] to stop passage of the bill at issue. The decisions themselves are formally taken by [[voice vote]] by a majority of the Councillors present at a meeting. However, the great majority of decisions are arrived at by [[consensus]]; even though lately there is said to be a trend towards more contentious discussions and close votes. === Secrecy === The meetings of the Federal Council and the result of the votes taken are not open to the public, and the records remain sealed for 50 years. This has lately been the subject of some criticism. In particular, the parties at the ends of the [[political spectrum]] argue that this secrecy is contrary to the principle of [[Transparency (humanities)|transparency]]. However, the Council has always maintained that secrecy is necessary to arrive at consensus and to preserve the [[collegiality]] and political independence of the individual Councillors. Despite the secrecy rule, details of the votes and the arguments in Council are sometimes [[leak]]ed to the press, resulting in (generally fruitless) investigations and criminal prosecutions of the leaking staff member. === Constitutional conventions === Due to the Federal Council's unique nature as a voluntary [[grand coalition]] of political opponents, its operation is subject to numerous [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional conventions]]. Most notable is the principle of [[collegiality]]; that is, the Councillors are supposed not to publicly criticise one another, even though they are often political opponents. In effect, they are expected to publicly support all decisions of the Council, even against their own personal opinion or that of their political party. In the eye of many observers, this convention has become rather strained after the 2003 elections (see below). == Election and composition == === Election mode === The members of the Federal Council are elected for a term of four years by both chambers of the federal parliament sitting together as the [[Federal Assembly of Switzerland|Federal Assembly]]. Each Councillor is elected individually by [[secret ballot]] by an [[absolute majority]] of votes. Every adult Swiss citizen is eligible, but in practice, only Members of Parliament or more rarely, members of Cantonal governments are nominated by the political parties and receive a substantial amount of votes. The voting is conducted in several rounds: in the first two rounds, anyone can enter their name; but in subsequent rounds, the person receiving the least votes is removed from the race until one candidate gains an absolute majority. With Council seats allocated to parties by unwritten agreement (see above), Federal Council elections generally are unexciting, pleasant affairs. Usually, the party which has a seat to fill presents two candidates with mainstream viewpoints to the United Federal Assembly, which then chooses one. This was not so, however, during the 2003 election, which was the most controversial in recent memory (see also above). Once elected, Councillors remain members of their political parties, but hold no leading office with them. In fact, they usually maintain a certain political distance from the party leadership, because under the rules of [[collegiality]], they will often have to publicly promote a Council decision which does not match the political conviction of their party (or of themselves). === Resignation === Once elected for a four-year-term, Federal Councillors can neither be voted out of office by a [[motion of no confidence]] nor can they be [[Impeachment|impeached]]. Re-election is possible for an indefinite number of terms, and it has historically been extremely rare for Parliament not to re-elect a sitting Councillor. This has only happened four times - to [[Ulrich Ochsenbein]] in 1854, to [[Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel]] in 1872, to [[Ruth Metzler-Arnold]] in 2003 and to [[Christoph Blocher]] in 2007. In practice, therefore, Councillors serve until they decide to resign and retire to private life, usually after three to five terms of office. == Status of Federal Councillors == === Councillors' lives === [[Image:Bundesrat der Schweiz 2008 Teil 1.JPG|250 px|thumb|The Swiss Federal Council, 2008. Official photograph]] Unlike most senior members of government in other countries, the Federal Councillors are not entitled to an [[official residence]]. Mostly, they have chosen to rent apartments or hotel suites in Bern (at their own expense); the only contemporary exception being [[Moritz Leuenberger]], who daily commutes by train from [[Zürich]] to Bern. However, they are entitled to use the Federal Council's country estate, [[Landsitz Lohn|Lohn]], for holidays; this estate is also used to host official guests of the Swiss Confederation. While Councillors can draw on an [[Swiss Army|Army]] security detail if they need personal protection (in particular during official events), it is more usual to encounter them without any escort at all in the streets, restaurants and [[tram]]ways of Bern. Councillors are also entitled to a personal [[bailiff]] (''Weibel'') who accompanies them, in a colourful uniform, to official events. This tradition is directly traceable &mdash; through the republican governments of the ancient Swiss cantons &mdash; back to the [[lictor]]s of the ancient [[Roman Republic]]. The spouses of Councillors do not play an official part in the business of government, apart from accompanying the Councillors to official receptions. === Councillors' salary === Federal Councillors draw a yearly [[remuneration]] of about [[Swiss franc|CHF]] 400,000 (circa [[Euro|EUR]] 256,000 / [[USD]] 305,000).<ref>[http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/172_121_1/a1.html Art. 1] of the Parliamentary Ordinance on the Salary and Pension of Magistrates</ref> After completing a full term of office, they are entitled to a perennial yearly pension of half that amount after leaving office. While Councillors are forbidden by law to hold any other post during their term of office, it is not unusual for them to accept lucrative business engagements after leaving office, e.g., on the board of directors of major Swiss corporations. === Immunity === Federal Councillors, like Members of Parliament, enjoy absolute [[legal immunity]] for all statements made in their official capacity. For crimes and misdemeanors not relating to their official capacity, they can be criminally prosecuted only with the permission of the Federal Council as a whole while in office. The prosecutor can appeal a refusal to grant permission to the Federal Assembly.<ref>[http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/172_010/a61a.html Art. 61a] of the Government and Administration Organisation Law</ref> Prosecution for crimes and misdemeanors that do relate to the Councillors' official capacity requires the assent of the Federal Assembly. In such cases, Parliament can also suspend the Councillor in office (but not actually remove her or him).<ref>[http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/170_32/a14.html Art. 14] of the Federal Law on the Responsibility of the Confederation and its Members of Authorities and Functionaries</ref> According to statements to the media by a Federal Chancellory official,<ref>{{De icon}} {{cite news|title=Bisher stets immun: Wegen Albisgüetli-Rede steht die Immunität von Christoph Blocher erneut zur Debatte|author=Jürg Sohm|date=May 30, 2006|publisher=[[Der Bund]]|url=http://www.espace.ch/artikel_218035.html}}</ref> in none of the few cases of accusations against a Federal Councillor has the permission to prosecute ever been granted. Such cases usually involved statements considered offensive by members of the public. However, one unnamed Councillor involved in a traffic accident immediately prior to his date of resignation was reported to have voluntarily waived his immunity, and Councillor [[Elisabeth Kopp]] decided to resign upon facing an inquiry over allegations of secrecy violations. == Assessment and calls for change == Historically, the collegial government of Switzerland has been assessed both internationally and nationally as exceptionally competent and stable. The Federal Council as a whole (although not individual members) has consistently maintained public approval and confidence rates in excess of sixty percent, possibly also because under the Swiss system of [[direct democracy]], voters can vent their displeasure with government decisions when deciding individual issues at the ballot box. However, lately there has been a growing contention that the Federal Council is often too slow to respond to the needs of the moment, too resistant to change and too weak to lead the powerful federal [[bureaucracy]]. Various changes have been proposed to address these issues, including expanding the powers of the presidency, expanding the Federal Council itself or adding a second layer of ministers between the Council and the departments. None of these proposals has yet borne fruit, however. After the 2003 elections, many observers{{weasel-inline}} have also noted that many present councillors tend to behave as self-centered [[alpha male]]s (or alpha females, in the case of Councillor Calmy-Rey) instead of as [[team player]]s as has historically been the case.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} They point to the visible mutual animosity and breaches of collegiality notable between [[Christoph Blocher]] and [[Pascal Couchepin]] / [[Moritz Leuenberger]], respectively. Others{{weasel-inline}}, however, contend that such confrontations have always occurred, but now tend to be hyped by [[Mass media|media]] eager to report on juicy political conflicts. If Switzerland were ever to join the [[European Union]] (which as of 2006 does not appear likely to happen in the next five to ten years), it would certainly have to reform its system of governance and direct democracy in order to allow its members of government to make binding decisions at the [[European Council]] level.{{fact|date=December 2007}} == List of "firsts" in the Federal Council == [[Image:Erster Bundesrat.jpg|thumb|The first seven members, elected 1848]] * 1848: The first seven members elected: [[Ulrich Ochsenbein]], [[Jonas Furrer]], [[Martin J. Munzinger]], [[Henri Druey]], [[Friedrich Frey-Herosé]], [[Wilhelm Matthias Naeff]] and [[Stefano Franscini]]. * 1854: First (of only four so far) sitting Federal Councillors not to be reelected, [[Ulrich Ochsenbein]]. * 1891: First Councillor of the [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland]], [[Josef Zemp]]. * 1893: First member whose father was a member of the Council: [[Eugène Ruffy]], son of [[Victor Ruffy]]. In 2007, the 2nd is elected: [[Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf]], the daughter of [[Leon Schlumpf]]. * 1911: First (and only) octogenarian in office, [[Adolf Deucher]]. * 1913: First (and only) native [[Romansh language|Romansh]] speaker, [[Felix Calonder]]. * 1917: First (and only) Councillor of the [[Liberal Party of Switzerland|Liberal Party]] elected, [[Gustave Ador]]. * 1930: First Councillor of the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents (BGB/PAI; now the [[Swiss People's Party]]), [[Rudolf Minger]]. * 1943: First Councillor of the [[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|Social Democratic Party]], [[Ernst Nobs]]. * 1983: First female candidate for the Council from a government party, [[Lilian Uchtenhagen]] ([[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|SP]]) * 1984: First woman Councillor, [[Elisabeth Kopp]] ([[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|FDP]]). * 1993: First Councillor of [[Swiss Jews|Jewish origin]], [[Ruth Dreifuss]] (SP). * 1995: First Councillor living in a [[domestic partnership]], [[Moritz Leuenberger]] (SP) (with architect [[Gret Loewensberg]], whom he later married). * 1999: First woman [[President of the Swiss Confederation|President of the Confederation]], Ruth Dreifuss (SP). == See also == *[[List of members of the Swiss Federal Council]] (by date of election) *[[Composition of the Swiss Federal Council]] *[[:Category:Members of the Swiss Federal Council]] (alphabetical list) *[[List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation]] == Notes == {{reflist|2}} == References == * {{HDS|10085|Federal Council}} * [http://www.admin.ch/ch/e/bk/buku/buku2006/index.html The Swiss Confederation: A brief guide 2006], edited by the Swiss Federal Chancellery. * [http://www.parlament.ch/f/wa-br-wahlresultate.pdf Resultate der Wahlen des Bundesrats, der Bundeskanzler und des Generals] ([[PDF]]), compiled by the services of the Swiss Parliament. * Clive H. Church (2004). ''The Politics and Government of Switzerland''. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-69277-2. * Altermatt, Urs (1993). ''Conseil Fédéral: Dictionnaire biographique des cent premiers conseillers fédéraux''. Cabédita, [[Yens]]. 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