If you have never lived in Switzerland, you may not be familiar with the intricacies of their political system. The system, which is federal in nature and based on semi-direct democracy, is often described as “unique.” The Federal Assembly, made up of 200 elected members of the National Council, elects the President of the Swiss Confederation from among the seven members of the Federal Council. The elected officials write the name of their chosen candidate on a ballot, and after they have been counted the President of the Federal Assembly announces the result. This election takes place in December each year during the winter parlimentary session. This annual rotation is the reason many people outside of Switzerland — and sometimes even within Switzerland — often don’t know the name of the current president. Unlike many other countries, the president isn’t directly elected by the citizens. Also unique is the term of the president, which is limited to one year. The president leads the government without having any specific additional powers, acting as equals with the other six federal councilors. The President of the Swiss Confederation is also not the head of state, as this is the responsibility of the entire Federal Council. The president's primary function is to conduct the meetings of the Federal Council and to act as arbiter if necessary. In an emergency, the president is empowered to take provisional measures, i.e. temporary decisions to resolve a specific situation. If the Federal Council can't be convened for any reason, the president is also entitled to make decisions on its behalf. While the term limit is one year, a federal councilor can be elected several times to the position of president. Women have served 8 terms as president, with the first being Councilor Ruth Dreifuss, who was president in 1999. The current president is Guy Parmelin, elected Jan. 1, 2026.
