Federal Administration (Switzerland)

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Logo of the federal authorities of the Swiss Confederation

The federal administration ( French Administration fédérale , Italian Amministrazione federale , Romansh Administraziun federala ? / I ) together with the Federal Council represent the executive branch of the Swiss Confederation . Audio file / audio sample

It comprises seven departments (comparable to a ministry ), the Federal Chancellery and the decentralized administrative units (almost 90 offices ) and is subordinate to the Federal Council. Each member of the Federal Council heads a department ( department principle ) and bears political responsibility for it. The federal administration employs around 38,000 people. The Federal Chancellor heads the Federal Chancellery.

The departments are now (since 1979/98) the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA), the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), and the Federal Department of Finance (EFD), Federal Department of Economics, Education and Research (EAER), and Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (DETEC). All departments can be accessed electronically via the admin.ch portal .

In terms of the separation of powers, independent administrations have the federal assembly with the parliamentary services and the federal court .

Departments, offices, institutions

The following authorities, federal companies and institutions are subordinate to the respective departments:

Federal Chancellery (BK)

Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr

  • Management staff: coordination and management tasks for the attention of the Federal Chancellor
  • Chancellor area
    • Planning and Strategy Section (together with the departments, among other things, prepares the report on legislative planning , the annual goals of the Federal Council and the annual business reports for submission to Parliament)
    • Political Rights Section (checks popular initiatives, checks submitted lists of signatures, organizes referendums and national council elections, processes related complaints)
    • Federal Crisis Management Training Section
    • File and Process Management Section
    • Internal services (personnel management, finance and accounting, logistics, IT, etc.)
  • Federal Council area:
    • Federal Council Business Section (preparation and follow-up of Federal Council meetings)
    • Legal Section (control and advisory function in the legislative process)
    • Central language services
    • Competence Center for Official Publications (KAV) (publishes the Federal Gazette, Official Collection and Systematic Legal Collection of Federal Law)
  • Information and Communication (headed by Vice Chancellor and Federal Council Spokesman André Simonazzi )
    • Communication section (informs the media and the public about the activities of the Federal Council and the Federal Chancellery)
    • Communication Support Section

Administratively assigned to the Federal Chancellery:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)

Ignazio Cassis (EDA)

Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis , Head of Department

Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA)

Alain Berset (EDI)

Federal Councilor Alain Berset , Head of Department

Administratively assigned to EDI:

Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP)

Karin Keller-Sutter

Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter , Head of Department

Administratively assigned to the FDJP:

Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS)

Viola Amherd

Federal Councilor Viola Amherd , Head of Department

Federal Department of Finance (FDF)

Ueli Maurer (EFD)

Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer , Head of Department

Administratively assigned to the EFD:

Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER)

Guy Parmelin

Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin , Head of Department

Administratively assigned to the WBF:

Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (DETEC)

Simonetta Sommaruga

Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga , Head of Department

Extra-parliamentary commissions

Extra-parliamentary commissions are bodies set up by the Federal Council or the department that carry out public tasks for the government and administration. They are subject to the Commission Ordinance of June 3, 1996 (SR 172.31). The extra-parliamentary commissions primarily fulfill two functions: As militia organs, they complement the federal administration in areas where it lacks special knowledge. This means that the administration has access to specialist knowledge that would have to be established itself. "New extra-parliamentary commissions are therefore often set up when the state has to take on new tasks and the relevant specialist knowledge is not yet available in the administration itself." They are also a useful means of representing the interests of organizations from politics, business and society. The cooperation enables compromises that are not based solely on the representation of interests. Accordingly, extra-parliamentary commissions can be viewed as an instrument of participatory democracy and have a long tradition in Switzerland. Examples are: PRS - Swiss Presence Commission; EEK - Federal Nutrition Commission; EKKJ - Federal Commission for Children and Youth Issues.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Personnel Office: The federal staff in numbers. Retrieved April 3, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Innosuisse. Retrieved February 1, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ausserparlamentarische commissions , admin.ch The Swiss federal authorities