This richly illustrated brochure, The Swiss Confederation - A Brief Guide 2009, is published each year and gives you a broad yet clear picture of Switzerland’s political institutions and executive authorities while also highlighting the structure and role played by the State.

Dear reader, one of rhe most exciting moments in Swiss politics has to be the Federal Council elections, as things very often come down to every last vote.

Following rhe election of a new member of government by the United Federal Assembly on 10 December 2008,
it is worth looking back at the colourful history of these elections: It took over 130 years for the first woman ro
be elected to the Federal Council in 1984. Today I am pleased to say thar there are three women in the Federal Council. When our federal state was founded in 1848.

the Federal Council consisted entirely of members of the Free Radical Party. It was only in 1891 that the first
Catholic-Conservative (precursor to the CVP) member joined the government.

After that, it again took some time until the first representative ofthe Farmers', Trades' and Citizens' Party (precursor to the SVP) was elected in 1929 and until a member of the Social Democratic Party was elected in 1943. It was exactly 50 years ago That the "magic formula" was established in 1959, a formula which stood for over 40 years: during that period, the Federal Council consisted of two Federal Councillors from the FDP, two from the SP, two from the CVP and one member from the SVP.

In 2003 though the SVP won a seat from the CVP. That election represented a break from the past. It not only brought an end to the longstanding political composition of the government (end of the magic formula), but it was also the first time in many years that a sitting member of the Federal Council was not re-elected (this had only happened twice in the early years of the federal state [1854, 1872]),

In 2007, there was a repeat when a member of the Federal Councillor, once again failed to be re-elected, In 2008 the party-political constellation altered again after the two SVP members who had been elected in 2007 shifted their allegiance to the newly created BDP (Conservative Democratic Party) following party· internal disputes.

Following the elections of 10 December 2008. the SVP is once again represented in the Federal Council. All of which goes to show that Federal Council elections do not simply follow a set panern. In the 19th century they were even referred to as a lonery. In recent years, the eve of the Federal Council elections has been termed the "night of the long knives". One thing is certain: Federal Council elections frequently offer an element of surprise and moments of suspense.

In 2009 we will also be turning our attention to sport 1Il the shape of rhe ice hockey world championship, which is being held here in Switzerland. In sport just as in politics, it is not about claiming the spotlight. It is about perseverance, teamwork, mutual respect and fair play. Only then is the contribution of each individual crowned by success. On that note I wish you a successful year and hope you enjoy reading this booklet, which will give you an insight into the country's political workings and the Federal Authorities.

Visit The Swiss Confederation - A Brief Guide 2009 Download Page

You can download full publication in PDF format.

Switzerland is a landlocked alpine country of roughly 7.7 million people (2009) in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km².

Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called cantons. Berne is the seat of the federal authorities, while the country's economic centres are its three global cities, Geneva, Basel and especially Zürich. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product. Zürich and Geneva have respectively been ranked as having the first and second highest quality of life in the world.

Switzerland is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. The country has a long history of neutrality — it has not been at war since 1815 — and hosts many international organizations, including the Red Cross, the World Trade Organization and one of the U.N.'s two European offices. However, it is not a member of the European Union.

Switzerland is multilingual and has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. The country's formal name is Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft in German, Confédération suisse in French, Confederazione Svizzera in Italian and Confederaziun svizra in Romansh. The establishment of Switzerland is traditionally dated to 1 August 1291; the first of August is the national holiday. (Wikipedia.org)

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