List of members of the Swiss Federal Council

This table lists the members of the Swiss Federal Council since 1848.

Party names

• Light blue: FDP The Liberals (before 2009 FDP , before 1894 free-spirited)
• Orange: CVP (before 1970 KCVP, before 1957 SKVP, before 1912 Catholic-Conservative)
• Dark blue: LP (before 1913 liberal)
• Green: SVP (before 1971 BGB )
• Red: SP
• Yellow: BDP (spin-off from SVP 2008)

Federal Councilors

year	image	Surname	Life dates	Canton	Political party
1848-1861		Jonas Furrer	1805-1861	Zurich	free.
1848-1854		Ulrich Ochsenbein	1811-1890	Bern	free.
1848-1855		Henri Druey	1799-1855	Vaud	free.
1848-1855		Josef Munzinger	1791-1855	Solothurn	free.
1848-1857		Stefano Franscini	1796-1857	Ticino	free.
1848-1866		Friedrich Frey-Herosé	1801-1873	Aargau	free.
1848-1875		Wilhelm Matthias Naeff	1802-1881	St. Gallen	free.
1855-1863		Jakob Stämpfli	1820-1879	Bern	free.
1855-1867		Constant Fornerod	1819-1899	Vaud	free.
1855-1875		Josef Martin Knüsel	1813-1889	Lucerne	free.
1857-1864		Giovanni Battista Pioda	1808-1882	Ticino	free.
1861-1872		Jakob Dubs	1822-1879	Zurich	free.
1864-1895		Karl Schenk	1823-1895	Bern	free.
1864-1872		Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel	1811-1893	Geneva	free.
1867-1891		Emil Welti	1825-1899	Aargau	free.
1867-1869		Victor Luffy	1823-1869	Vaud	free.
1870-1875		Paul Cérésole	1832-1905	Vaud	free.
1872-1878		Johann Jakob Scherer	1825-1888	Zurich	free.
1873-1875		Eugène Borel	1835-1892	Neuchâtel	free.
1876-1878		Joachim Heer	1825-1879	Glarus	free.
1876-1880		Fridolin other value	1828-1880	Thurgau	free.
1876-1890		Bernhard Hammer	1822-1907	Solothurn	free.
1876-1892		Numa Droz	1844-1899	Neuchâtel	free.
1879-1883		Simeon Bavier	1825-1896	Grisons	free.
1879-1888		Wilhelm Hertenstein	1825-1888	Zurich	free.
1881-1893		Louis Ruchonnet	1834-1893	Vaud	free.
1883-1912		Adolf Deucher	1831-1912	Thurgau	FDP
1889-1902		Walter Hauser	1837-1902	Zurich	FDP
1891-1897		Emil Frey	1838-1922	Basel-Country	FDP
1892-1908		Josef Zemp	1834-1908	Lucerne	Catholic Cons.
1893-1899		Adrien Lachenal	1849-1918	Geneva	FDP
1894-1899		Eugène Luffy	1854-1919	Vaud	FDP
1895-1919		Eduard Müller	1848-1919	Bern	FDP
1897-1911		Ernst Brenner	1856-1911	Basel city	FDP
1900-1912		Robert Comtesse	1847-1922	Neuchâtel	FDP
1900-1912		Marc Ruchet	1853-1912	Vaud	FDP
1903-1917		Ludwig Forrer	1845-1921	Zurich	FDP
1908-1911		Josef Anton Schobinger	1849-1911	Lucerne	Catholic Cons.
1911-1917		Arthur Hoffmann	1857-1927	St. Gallen	FDP
1912-1940		Giuseppe Motta	1871-1940	Ticino	SKVP
1912-1913		Louis Perrier	1849-1913	Neuchâtel	FDP
1912-1919		Camille Decoppet	1862-1925	Vaud	FDP
1912-1935		Edmund Schulthess	1868-1944	Aargau	FDP
1913-1920		Felix Calonder	1863-1952	Grisons	FDP
1917-1919		Gustave Ador	1845-1928	Geneva	LP
1918-1929		Robert Haab	1865-1939	Zurich	FDP
1920-1929		Karl Scheurer	1872-1929	Bern	FDP
1920-1928		Ernest Chuard	1857-1942	Vaud	FDP
1920-1934		Jean-Marie Musy	1876-1952	Freiburg	SKVP
1920-1934		Heinrich Häberlin	1868-1947	Thurgau	FDP
1929-1944		Marcel Pilet-Golaz	1889-1958	Vaud	FDP
1930-1940		Rudolf Minger	1881-1955	Bern	BGB
1930-1938		Albert Meyer	1870-1953	Zurich	FDP
1934-1940		Johannes Baumann	1874-1953	Appenzell Ausserrhoden	FDP
1934-1959		Philipp Etter	1891-1977	train	SKVP
1935-1940		Hermann Obrecht	1882-1940	Solothurn	FDP
1939-1943		Serious weather	1877-1963	Zurich	FDP
1940-1950		Enrico Celio	1889-1980	Ticino	SKVP
1940-1947		Walther Stampfli	1884-1965	Solothurn	FDP
1941-1951		Eduard von Steiger	1881-1962	Bern	BGB
1941-1954		Karl Kobelt	1891-1968	St. Gallen	FDP
1944-1951		Ernst Nobs	1886-1957	Zurich	SP
1945–1961		Max Petitpierre	1899-1994	Neuchâtel	FDP
1948-1954		Rodolphe Rubattel	1896-1961	Vaud	FDP
1950-1954		Josef Escher	1885-1954	Valais	SKVP
1952-1958		Markus Feldmann	1897-1958	Bern	BGB
1952-1954		Max Weber	1897-1974	Zurich	SP
1954-1959		Hans Streuli	1892-1970	Zurich	FDP
1955-1959		Thomas Holenstein	1896-1962	St. Gallen	KCVP
1955-1966		Paul Chaudet	1904-1977	Vaud	FDP
1955-1959		Giuseppe Lepori	1902-1968	Ticino	KCVP
1959-1965		Friedrich Traugott elections	1899-1985	Bern	BGB
1960–1962		Jean Bourgknecht	1902-1964	Freiburg	KCVP
1960-1970		Willy Spühler	1902-1990	Zurich	SP
1960-1971		Ludwig von Moos	1910-1990	Obwalden	CVP
1960-1973		Hans-Peter Tschudi	1913-2002	Basel city	SP
1961-1969		Hans Schaffner	1908-2004	Aargau	FDP
1962-1973		Roger Bonvin	1907-1982	Valais	CVP
1966-1979		Rudolf Gnägi	1917-1985	Bern	SVP
1967-1973		Nello Celio	1914-1995	Ticino	FDP
1970-1988		Ernst Brugger	1914-1998	Zurich	FDP
1970-1988		Pierre Graber	1908-2003	Neuchâtel	SP
1972-1986		Kurt Furgler	1924-2008	St. Gallen	CVP
1974-1983		Willi Ritschard	1918-1983	Solothurn	SP
1974-1982		Hans Hürlimann	1918-1994	train	CVP
1974-1983		Georges-André Chevallaz	1915-2002	Vaud	FDP
1978-1982		Fritz Honegger	1917-1999	Zurich	FDP
1978-1987		Pierre Aubert	1927-2016	Neuchâtel	SP
1980-1987		Leon Smurf	1925-2012	Grisons	SVP
1983-1986		Alphons Egli	1924-2016	Lucerne	CVP
1983-1984		Rudolf Friedrich	1923-2013	Zurich	FDP
1984-1995		Otto Stich	1927-2012	Solothurn	SP
1984-1998		Jean-Pascal Delamuraz	1936-1998	Vaud	FDP
1984-1989		Elisabeth Kopp	* 1936	Zurich	FDP
1987-1999		Arnold Koller	* 1933	Appenzell Innerrhoden	CVP
1987-1999		Flavio Cotti	* 1939	Ticino	CVP
1988-1993		René Felber	* 1933	Neuchâtel	SP
1988-2000		Adolf Ogi	* 1942	Bern	SVP
1989-2003		Kaspar Villiger	* 1941	Lucerne	FDP
1993-2002		Ruth Dreifuss	* 1940	Geneva	SP
1995-2010		Moritz Leuenberger	* 1946	Zurich	SP
1998-2009		Pascal Couchepin	* 1942	Valais	FDP The Liberals
1999-2003		Ruth Metzler-Arnold	* 1964	Appenzell Innerrhoden	CVP
1999-2006		Joseph Deiss	* 1946	Freiburg	CVP
2001-2008		Samuel Schmid	* 1947	Bern	SVP BDP
2003-2011		Micheline Calmy-Rey	* 1945	Geneva	SP
2004-2007		Christoph Blocher	* 1940	Zurich	SVP
2004-2010		Hans-Rudolf Merz	* 1942	Appenzell Ausserrhoden	FDP The Liberals
2006-2018		Doris Leuthard	* 1963	Aargau	CVP
2008-2015		Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf	* 1956	Grisons	SVP BDP
2009–		Ueli Maurer	* 1950	Zurich	SVP
2009-2017		Didier Burkhalter	* 1960	Neuchâtel	FDP The Liberals
2010–		Simonetta Sommaruga	* 1960	Bern	SP
2010-2018		Johann Schneider-Ammann	* 1952	Bern	FDP The Liberals
2012–		Alain Berset	* 1972	Freiburg	SP
2016–		Guy Parmelin	* 1959	Vaud	SVP
2017–		Ignazio Cassis	* 1961	Ticino	FDP The Liberals
2019–		Viola Amherd	* 1962	Valais	CVP
2019–		Karin Keller-Sutter	* 1963	St. Gallen	FDP The Liberals

Succession

decade	First day in office	Federal Councilors
1840s	Nov 16, 1848	Ulrich Ochsenbein	Jonas Furrer	Josef Munzinger	Henri Druey	Friedrich Frey-Herosé	Wilhelm Matthias Naeff	Stefano Franscini
1850s
	Jan 1, 1855	Jakob Stämpfli
	July 11, 1855				Constant Fornerod
	July 14, 1855			Josef Martin Knüsel
	July 30, 1857							Giovanni Battista Pioda
1860s	July 30, 1861		Jakob Dubs
	Jan 1, 1864	Karl Schenk
	July 12, 1864							Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel
	Jan 1, 1867					Emil Welti
	Jan 1, 1868				Victor Luffy
1870s	1 Feb 1870				Paul Cérésole
	May 28, 1872		Johann Jakob Scherer
	Jan 1, 1873							Eugène Borel
	Jan 1, 1876			Joachim Heer	Numa Droz		Fridolin other value	Bernhard Hammer
	Jan 1, 1879			Simeon Bavier
	Apr 1, 1879		Wilhelm Hertenstein
1880s	March 3, 1881						Louis Ruchonnet
	Apr 10, 1883			Adolf Deucher
	13 Dec 1888		Walter Hauser
1890s	Jan 1, 1891							Emil Frey
	Jan 1, 1892					Josef Zemp
	Jan 1, 1893				Adrien Lachenal
	Dec 14, 1893						Eugène Luffy
	16 Aug 1895	Eduard Müller
	Apr 1, 1897							Ernst Brenner
1900s	1st Jan 1900				Robert Comtesse		Marc-Emile Ruchet
	11th Dec 1902		Ludwig Forrer
	June 17, 1908					Josef Anton Schobinger
1910s	Apr 4, 1911							Arthur Hoffmann
	Dec 14, 1911					Giuseppe Motta
	March 12, 1912				Louis Perrier
	July 17, 1912			Edmund Schulthess			Camille Decoppet
	June 12, 1913				Felix Calonder
	June 26, 1917							Gustave Ador
	1st Dec 1918		Robert Haab
	11th Dec 1919	Karl Scheurer
1920s	Jan 1, 1920						Ernest Chuard	Jean-Marie Musy
	Feb 12, 1920				Heinrich Häberlin
	Jan 1, 1929						Marcel Pilet-Golaz
	Dec 12, 1929	Rudolf Minger	Albert Meyer
1930s	Apr 30, 1934				Johannes Baumann			Philipp Etter
	Apr 15, 1935			Hermann Obrecht
	Jan 1, 1939		Serious weather
1940s	22nd Feb 1940					Enrico Celio
	Aug 1, 1940			Walther Stampfli
	Dec 10, 1940	Eduard von Steiger
	Jan 1, 1941				Karl Kobelt
	Jan 1, 1944		Ernst Nobs
	Jan 1, 1945						Max Petitpierre
	Jan 1, 1948			Rodolphe Rubattel
1950s	Oct 15, 1950					Josef Escher
	13th Dec 1951	Markus Feldmann
	Jan 1, 1952		Max Weber
	1st Feb 1954		Hans Streuli
	16th Dec 1954					Thomas Holenstein
	Jan 1, 1955			Paul Chaudet	Giuseppe Lepori
	11th Dec 1958	Friedrich Traugott elections
1960s	Jan 1, 1960		Willy Spühler		Hans-Peter Tschudi	Ludwig von Moos		Jean Bourgknecht
	July 1, 1961						Hans Schaffner
	Oct 1, 1962							Roger Bonvin
	Jan 1, 1966	Rudolf Gnägi
	Jan 1, 1967			Nello Celio
1970s	Jan 1, 1970						Ernst Brugger
	Feb 1, 1970		Pierre Graber
	Jan 1, 1972					Kurt Furgler
	Jan 1, 1974			Georges-André Chevallaz	Willy Ritschard			Hans Hürlimann
	Jan 1, 1978						Fritz Honegger
	Feb 1, 1978		Pierre Aubert
1980s	Jan 1, 1980	Leon Smurf
	Jan 1, 1983						Rudolf Friedrich	Alphons Egli
	7th Dec 1983				Otto Stich
	Jan 1, 1984			Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
	Oct 21, 1984						Elisabeth Kopp
	Jan 1, 1987					Arnold Koller		Flavio Cotti
	Jan 1, 1988	Adolf Ogi	René Felber
	Feb 1, 1989						Kaspar Villiger
1990s	Apr 1, 1993		Ruth Dreifuss
	Nov 1, 1995				Moritz Leuenberger
	Apr 1, 1998			Pascal Couchepin
	Apr 1, 1999					Ruth Metzler-Arnold		Joseph Deiss
2000s	Jan 1, 2001	Samuel Schmid
	Jan 1, 2003		Micheline Calmy-Rey
	Jan 1, 2004					Christoph Blocher	Hans-Rudolf Merz
	Aug 1, 2006							Doris Leuthard
	Jan 1, 2008					Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
	June 16, 2008 July 5, 2008	Samuel Schmid				Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
	Jan 1, 2009	Ueli Maurer
	Nov 1, 2009			Didier Burkhalter
2010s	Nov 1, 2010				Simonetta Sommaruga		Johann Schneider-Ammann
	1st Jan 2012		Alain Berset
	1st Jan 2016					Guy Parmelin
	1st Nov 2017			Ignazio Cassis
	1st Jan 2019						Karin Keller-Sutter	Viola Amherd

Remarks

1. ↑ The Federal Councilors are elected by the Federal Assembly for four years and are normally re-elected. If the predecessor died in office, this is the date of the election, otherwise the first day in office.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Not re-elected
3. ↑ Johann Jakob Stehlin (1803–1879, BS) did not accept the election
4. ^ Charles Estoppey (1820–1888, VD) did not accept the election on December 18, 1875. Eight days earlier, Louis Ruchonnet had also refused; the latter was elected in 1881.
5. ^ Karl Hoffmann (1820–1895, SG) did not accept the election on February 22, 1881
6. ↑ From 1959 the magic formula for party composition applied: FDP 2, CVP 2, SP 2, SVP 1
7. ^ Francis Matthey (1941-, NE) did not accept the election on March 3, 1993
8. ↑ New party composition: FDP 2, SP 2, SVP (since summer 2008 BDP ) 2, CVP 1
9. ↑ ^{a b c} After the 2007 Federal Council election , in which Christoph Blocher was not re-elected, but Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf was elected instead, SVP Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and its cantonal section, SVP Graubünden (now BDP Graubünden ), closed out of SVP Switzerland out. The SVP then split up, and the BDP Bern was founded in the canton of Bern, which was joined by the SVP Rüti section, of which Samuel Schmid is a member. He confirmed that he wanted to be a new member of the BDP. These cantonal parties represent sections of the BDP Switzerland . For Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, June 16, 2008, when the SVP Graubünden accepted the exclusion and renamed itself to BPS Graubünden (as the abbreviation was already in use, the Renamed to BDP); Samuel Schmid's deadline is July 5, 2008, when his local SVP section, SVP Rüti, joined the BDP Bern.

statistics

Since the founding of the modern Swiss federal state in 1848, a total of 117 Federal Councilors had been in office for 1190 years ((2018 - 1848) × 7) as of 2018. On average, a Federal Councilor was in office for around ten years (exactly: 1190 years of office / 117 Federal Councilors = 10,171 years). This leads to a high degree of government continuity and contributes to the stability of the Swiss political system, which is very high by international standards (as of October 31, 2017 after 169 years of the Federal Council). In 2012, however, the Federal Council was the youngest in office since the election of Hans Schaffner in 1961 and thus one of the youngest in history. Since then, the number of resignations has increased the age of office of the entire Federal Council, so that in 2018 only Parmelin and Cassis had less than five years in office.

Parties to the Federal Council

As of January 1, 2019

Political party	Federal Councilors	Remarks
FDP. The Liberals , FDP , predecessor groups	71
Liberal Party	01
CVP, KCVP, KK	21st
SVP , BGB	12	2 elected as SVP, change to BDP during term of office
SP	14th
BDP	02	2 elected as SVP, change to BDP during term of office

Federal Councilors per canton

The cantons of origin of the current Federal Councilors (as of January 1, 2019) are shown in bold .

Cantons	Number of Federal Councilors
Zurich	20th
Vaud	15th
Bern	14th
Neuchâtel	09
Ticino	08th
Solothurn , St. Gallen	06th
Aargau , Lucerne , Geneva	05
Freiburg , Graubünden , Valais	04th
Thurgau	03
Zug , Basel-Stadt , Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Appenzell Innerrhoden	02
Basel-Country , Obwalden , Glarus	01
Uri , Schwyz , Nidwalden , Schaffhausen , Jura	00

Last federal councilors by canton

As of January 1, 2019

Canton	Last Federal Council	Resignation or no re-election
Zurich	Ueli Maurer	in office
Bern	Simonetta Sommaruga	in office
Lucerne	Kaspar Villiger	2003
Uri	no Federal Council yet
Schwyz	no Federal Council yet
Obwalden	Ludwig von Moos	1971
Nidwalden	no Federal Council yet
Glarus	Joachim Heer	1878
train	Hans Hürlimann	1982
Freiburg	Alain Berset	in office
Solothurn	Otto Stich	1995
Basel city	Hans-Peter Tschudi	1973
Basel-Country	Emil Frey	1897
Schaffhausen	no Federal Council yet
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	Hans-Rudolf Merz	2010
Appenzell Innerrhoden	Ruth Metzler-Arnold	2003
St. Gallen	Karin Keller-Sutter	in office
Grisons	Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf	2015
Aargau	Doris Leuthard	2018
Thurgau	Heinrich Häberlin	1934
Ticino	Ignazio Cassis	in office
Vaud	Guy Parmelin	in office
Valais	Viola Amherd	in office
Neuchâtel	Didier Burkhalter	2017
Geneva	Micheline Calmy-Rey	2011
law	no Federal Council yet

Language regions

French-speaking Switzerland has had at least one representative in the Federal Council without interruption since the state was founded in 1848. In contrast, Italian-speaking Switzerland does not have a permanent seat in the government. Between 1848 and July 2017, she was represented in the Federal Council for 81 of 169 years. The longest period without Ticino government participation was from 1865 until Giuseppe Motta's election in 1911. Since October 31, 2017, Ticino with Ignazio Cassis ( FDP ) has been represented in the Federal Council again after around 20 years.

Longest term of office

Years	Surname
31	Karl Schenk
29	Adolf Deucher
28	Giuseppe Motta
27	Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
25th	Emil Welti , Philipp Etter
24	Eduard Müller
22nd	Edmund Schulthess
20th	Josef Martin Knüsel

Shortest term of office

Acting Federal Councilors are shown in bold .

Years	Surname
1	Louis Perrier , Viola Amherd , Karin Keller-Sutter
2	Gustave Ador , Jean Bourgknecht , Max Weber , Victor Ruffy , Rudolf Friedrich , Ignazio Cassis
3	Eugène Borel , Joachim Heer , Josef Anton Schobinger
4th	Alphons Egli , Elisabeth Kopp , Josef Escher , Ruth Metzler-Arnold , Christoph Blocher , Guy Parmelin
5	Ernst Wetter , Fridolin Anderwert , Fritz Honegger , Giuseppe Lepori , Hermann Obrecht , Paul Cérésole , René Felber , Thomas Holenstein

Age at choice

Age	Surname
72	Gustave Ador
65	Josef Escher
63	Louis Perrier , Christoph Blocher
62	Ernest Chuard
...	...
36	Constant Fornerod , Eugène Borel
35	Ruth Metzler-Arnold
34	Jakob Stämpfli
31	Numa Droz

Age at resignation, non-re-election or death in office

Acting Federal Councilors are shown in bold .

Age	Surname
81	Adolf Deucher
74	Gustave Ador , Josef Zemp
73	Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
72	Karl Schenk , Ludwig Forrer
71	Eduard Müller , Ernest Chuard
70	Eduard von Steiger , Pierre Graber , Ueli Maurer
...	...
50	Adrien Lachenal , Jakob Dubs
48	Constant Fornerod , Numa Droz
46	Victor Luffy
43	Jakob Stämpfli , Paul Cérésole , Ulrich Ochsenbein
40	Eugène Borel
39	Ruth Metzler-Arnold

Years of life after resignation

Existing Federal Councilors who are still alive are shown in bold .

Years	Surname
36	Ulrich Ochsenbein
35	Hans Schaffner
33	Max Petitpierre
31	Elisabeth Kopp
30th	Enrico Celio , Paul Cérésole
29	Hans-Peter Tschudi , Rudolf Friedrich , Alphons Egli
28	Pierre Aubert
27	René Felber
25th	Emil Frey , Pierre Graber

Federal Councilors with the longest lifespan

Existing Federal Councilors who are still alive are shown in bold .

Age	Surname
95	Max Petitpierre , Hans Schaffner
94	Pierre Graber
91	Alphons Egli
90	Enrico Celio , Rudolf Friedrich
89	Pierre Aubert
88	Felix Calonder , Willy Spühler , Hans-Peter Tschudi
87	Georges-André Chevallaz , Leon Schlumpf
86	Philipp Etter , Friedrich Traugott Wahlen , René Felber , Arnold Koller
85	Bernhard Hammer , Ernest Chuard , Ernst Wetter , Otto Stich

No re-election

Usually federal councilors are replaced when they step down. Not being re-elected is extremely unusual. This has only happened four times in the history of the Swiss federal state, with no member of the Federal Council not being re-elected between 1873 and 2002.

year	image	Name (life data)	Political party
1854		Ulrich Ochsenbein (1811–1890)	free.
1872		Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel (1811-1893)	free.
2003		Ruth Metzler-Arnold (* 1964)	CVP
2007		Christoph Blocher (* 1940)	SVP

Death in office

year	image	Name (life data)	Political party
1855		Josef Munzinger (1791–1855)	free.
1855		Henri Druey (1799–1855)	free.
1857		Stefano Franscini (1796-1857)	free.
1861		Jonas Furrer (1805–1861)	free.
1869		Victor Luffy (1823-1869)	free.
1878		Johann Jakob Scherer (1825-1878)	free.
1880		Fridolin Anderwert (1828–1880)	free.
1888		Wilhelm Hertenstein (1825–1888)	free.
1893		Louis Ruchonnet (1834-1893)	free.
1895		Karl Schenk (1823–1895)	FDP
1902		Walter Hauser (1837–1902)	FDP
1911		Ernst Brenner (1856–1911)	FDP
1911		Josef Anton Schobinger (1849–1911)	Catholic Cons.
1912		Adolf Deucher (1831-1912)	FDP
1912		Marc Ruchet (1853-1912)	FDP
1913		Louis Perrier (1849-1913)	FDP
1919		Eduard Müller (1848-1919)	FDP
1929		Karl Scheurer (1872–1929)	FDP
1940		Giuseppe Motta (1871-1940)	SKVP
1954		Josef Escher (1885–1954)	SKVP
1958		Markus Feldmann (1897–1958)	BGB
1983		Willi Ritschard (1918–1983)	SP

Not accepting the election

So far, five elected federal councilors have not accepted the election. The last time Francis Matthey rejected his election for the first time in over 100 years in 1993. Instead, Ruth Dreifuss was elected as the first SP representative to the Federal Council. Louis Ruchonnet, who refused to vote in 1875, was re-elected to the Federal Council in 1881 and accepted the election. Charles Estoppey, who was elected in place of Ruchonnet, also rejected the election. Finally, Numa Droz was elected as the youngest Federal Councilor to date.

year	image	Name (life data)	Political party
1855		Johann Jakob Stehlin (1803–1879)	free.
1875		Louis Ruchonnet (1834-1893)	free.
1875		Charles Estoppey (1820-1888)	free.
1881		Karl Hoffmann (1820–1895)	free.
1993		Francis Matthey (* 1942)	SP

Resignation from office at the end of the legislature

year	image	Name (life data)	Political party
1863		Jakob Stämpfli (1820–1879)	free.
1866		Friedrich Frey-Herosé (1801–1873)	free.
1875		Wilhelm Matthias Naeff (1802-1881)	free.
1875		Josef Martin Knüsel (1813–1889)	free.
1875		Paul Cérésole (1832–1905)	free.
1875		Eugène Borel (1835-1892)	free.
1878		Joachim Heer (1825–1879)	free.
1890		Bernhard Hammer (1822–1907)	free.
1899		Adrien Lachenal (1849–1918)	FDP
1899		Eugène Luffy (1854-1919)	FDP
1917		Ludwig Forrer (1845–1921)	FDP
1919		Camille Decoppet (1862-1925)	FDP
1919		Gustave Ador (1845-1928)	LP
1928		Ernest Chuard (1857-1942)	FDP
1943		Ernst Wetter (1877–1963)	FDP
1947		Walther Stampfli (1884–1965)	FDP
1951		Eduard von Steiger (1881–1962)	BGB
1951		Ernst Nobs (1886–1957)	SP
1959		Philipp Etter (1891–1977)	KCVP
1959		Hans Streuli (1892-1970)	FDP
1959		Thomas Holenstein (1896–1962)	KCVP
1959		Giuseppe Lepori (1902–1968)	KCVP
1971		Ludwig von Moos (1910–1990)	CVP
1979		Rudolf Gnägi (1917–1985)	SVP
1983		Georges-André Chevallaz (1915-2002)	FDP
1987		Pierre Aubert (1927-2016)	SP
1987		Leon Schlumpf (1925–2012)	SVP
2003		Kaspar Villiger (* 1941)	FDP
2011		Micheline Calmy-Rey (* 1945)	SP
2015		Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (* 1956)	BDP

Resignation at the end of the Federal Presidium

year	image	Name (life data)	Political party
1867		Constant Fornerod (1819-1899)	free.
1891		Emil Welti (1825–1899)	free.
1919		Gustave Ador (1845-1928)	LP
1929		Robert Haab (1865-1939)	FDP
1951		Eduard von Steiger (1881–1962)	BGB
1954		Rodolphe Rubattel (1896–1961)	FDP
1973		Roger Bonvin (1907-1982)	CVP
1982		Fritz Honegger (1917–1999)	FDP
1986		Alphons Egli (1924-2016)	CVP
1987		Pierre Aubert (1927-2016)	SP
2000		Adolf Ogi (* 1942)	SVP

Choice of women

year	image	Name (life data)	Political party
1984		Elisabeth Kopp (* 1936)	FDP
1993		Ruth Dreifuss (* 1940)	SP
1999		Ruth Metzler-Arnold (* 1964)	CVP
2002		Micheline Calmy-Rey (* 1945)	SP
2006		Doris Leuthard (* 1963)	CVP
2007		Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (* 1956)	SVP
			BDP
2010		Simonetta Sommaruga (* 1960)	SP
2018		Viola Amherd (* 1962)	CVP
2018		Karin Keller-Sutter (* 1963)	FDP

From Nov. 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2011, women were in the majority (4 out of 7); In addition, the Chancellor was a woman during this period.

Federal councilors without a university degree

In the 19th century, some federal councilors had no academic education. According to Urs Altermatt, 87 of 99 Federal Councilors (as of 1991) had completed a university degree. The following people are known from 1929:

Federal Council	education and profession	Term of office
Rudolf Minger	Secondary school , farmer	1929-1940
Willi Ritschard	Heating fitter	1973-1983
Adolf Ogi	Training as a businessman ( commercial school )	1988-2000
René Felber	Matura, teacher training college and teacher certificate	1988-1993
Ueli Maurer	Apprenticeship as a businessman	in office
Guy Parmelin	Matura, apprenticeship as a farmer	in office
Simonetta Sommaruga	Matura, training as a concert pianist	in office
Karin Keller-Sutter	Commercial diploma and interpreting school	in office

With the election of Karin Keller-Sutter in December 2018, the Federal Council consists of non-academics for the first time.

List of living Federal Councilors and former Federal Councilors

Surname	Political party	Canton	Born	choice	Federal President	Cancellation notice	resignation
Viola Amherd	CVP	Valais	06/07/1962	05.12.2018		officiating	officiating
Alain Berset	SP	Freiburg	04/09/1972	December 14, 2011	2018	officiating	officiating
Christoph Blocher	SVP	Zurich	10/11/1940	12/10/2003		12/12/2007 (no re-election)	12/31/2007
Didier Burkhalter	FDP	Neuchâtel	04/17/1960	09/16/2009	2014	06/14/2017	October 31, 2017
Micheline Calmy-Rey	SP	Geneva	07/08/1945	04/12/2002	2007, 2011	07.09.2011	December 31, 2011
Ignazio Cassis	FDP	Ticino	04/13/1961	09/20/2017		officiating	officiating
Flavio Cotti	CVP	Ticino	October 18, 1939	12/10/1986	1991, 1998	01/13/1999	04/30/1999
Pascal Couchepin	FDP	Valais	04/05/1942	03/11/1998	2003, 2008	06/12/2009	October 31, 2009
Joseph Deiss	CVP	Freiburg	January 18, 1946	03/11/1999	2004	04/27/2006	07/31/2006
Ruth Dreifuss	SP	Geneva	01/09/1940	03/10/1993	1999	2002	December 31, 2002
René Felber	SP	Neuchâtel	March 14, 1933	12/09/1987	1992	1993	March 31, 1993
Karin Keller-Sutter	FDP	St. Gallen	12/22/1963	05.12.2018		officiating	officiating
Arnold Koller	CVP	Appenzell Innerrhoden	08/29/1933	12/10/1986	1990, 1997	01/13/1999	04/30/1999
Elisabeth Kopp	FDP	Zurich	December 16, 1936	10/02/1984	(Planned for 1990)	01/12/1989	01/12/1989
Moritz Leuenberger	SP	Zurich	09/21/1946	09/27/1995	2001, 2006, (planned for 2011)	07/09/2010 / 08/07/2010	10/31/2010
Doris Leuthard	CVP	Aargau	04/10/1963	06/14/2006	2010, 2017	09/27/2018	December 31, 2018
Ueli Maurer	SVP	Zurich	December 01, 1950	12/10/2008	2013, 2019	officiating	officiating
Hans-Rudolf Merz	FDP	Appenzell Ausserrhoden	11/10/1942	12/10/2003	2009	08/06/2010 / 09/28/2010	10/28/2010
Ruth Metzler-Arnold	CVP	Appenzell Innerrhoden	05/23/1964	03/11/1999	(Planned for 2004)	December 10, 2003 (no re-election)	12/31/2003
Adolf Ogi	SVP	Bern	07/18/1942	12/09/1987	1993, 2000	October 18, 2000	December 31, 2000
Guy Parmelin	SVP	Vaud	11/09/1959	12/09/2015		officiating	officiating
Samuel Schmid	SVP / BDP	Bern	01/08/1947	06.12.2000	2005	11/12/2008	December 31, 2008
Johann Schneider-Ammann	FDP	Bern	02/18/1952	09/22/2010	2016	09/25/2018	December 31, 2018
Simonetta Sommaruga	SP	Bern	05/14/1960	09/22/2010	2015, 2020	officiating	officiating
Kaspar Villiger	FDP	Lucerne	02/05/1941	02/01/1989	1995, 2002	2003	12/31/2003
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf	SVP / BDP	Grisons	March 16, 1956	12/12/2007	2012	28/10/2015	December 31, 2015

Alphabetical

• Gustave Ador
• Viola Amherd
• Fridolin other value
• Pierre Aubert
• Johannes Baumann
• Simeon Bavier
• Alain Berset
• Christoph Blocher
• Roger Bonvin
• Eugène Borel
• Jean Bourgknecht
• Ernst Brenner
• Ernst Brugger
• Didier Burkhalter
• Micheline Calmy-Rey
• Felix Calonder
• Ignazio Cassis
• Enrico Celio
• Nello Celio
• Paul Cérésole
• Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel
• Paul Chaudet
• Georges-André Chevallaz
• Ernest Chuard
• Robert Comtesse
• Flavio Cotti
• Pascal Couchepin
• Camille Decoppet
• Joseph Deiss
• Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
• Adolf Deucher
• Ruth Dreifuss
• Numa Droz
• Henri Druey
• Jakob Dubs
• Alphons Egli
• Josef Escher
• Philipp Etter
• René Felber
• Markus Feldmann

• Constant Fornerod
• Ludwig Forrer
• Stefano Franscini
• Emil Frey
• Friedrich Frey-Herosé
• Rudolf Friedrich
• Kurt Furgler
• Jonas Furrer
• Rudolf Gnägi
• Pierre Graber
• Robert Haab
• Heinrich Häberlin
• Bernhard Hammer
• Walter Hauser
• Wilhelm Friedrich Hertenstein
• Joachim Heer
• Arthur Hoffmann
• Thomas Holenstein
• Fritz Honegger
• Hans Hürlimann
• Karin Keller-Sutter
• Josef Martin Knüsel
• Karl Kobelt
• Arnold Koller
• Elisabeth Kopp
• Adrien Lachenal
• Giuseppe Lepori
• Moritz Leuenberger
• Doris Leuthard
• Ueli Maurer
• Hans-Rudolf Merz
• Ruth Metzler-Arnold
• Albert Meyer
• Rudolf Minger
• Ludwig von Moos
• Giuseppe Motta
• Eduard Müller
• Josef Munzinger
• Jean-Marie Musy
• Wilhelm Matthias Naeff

• Ernst Nobs
• Hermann Obrecht
• Ulrich Ochsenbein
• Adolf Ogi
• Guy Parmelin
• Louis Perrier
• Max Petitpierre
• Marcel Pilet-Golaz
• Giovanni Battista Pioda
• Willy Ritschard
• Rodolphe Rubattel
• Marc-Emile Ruchet
• Louis Ruchonnet
• Eugène Luffy
• Victor Luffy
• Hans Schaffner
• Karl Schenk
• Johann Jakob Scherer
• Karl Scheurer
• Leon Smurf
• Samuel Schmid
• Johann Schneider-Ammann
• Josef Anton Schobinger
• Edmund Schulthess
• Simonetta Sommaruga
• Willy Spühler
• Walther Stampfli
• Jakob Stämpfli
• Eduard von Steiger
• Hans Streuli
• Otto Stich
• Hans-Peter Tschudi
• Kaspar Villiger
• Friedrich Traugott elections
• Max Weber
• Emil Welti
• Serious weather
• Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
• Josef Zemp

See also

• List of Swiss Federal Presidents
• Federal Council elections

literature

• Urs Altermatt (Ed.): The Swiss Federal Councilors. A biographical lexicon. Artemis, Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-0702-X ; updated new edition: The Federal Council Lexicon . NZZ Libro, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 .

Web links

Commons : Members of the Swiss Federal Council  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Directory of the members of the Federal Council since 1848
• Detailed documentation of the Federal Councilors and their elections (PDF; 554 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christof Forster: Federal Council elections : How Ticino got its Federal Councilors In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of July 13, 2017
2. ↑ Urs Altermatt: The Swiss Federal Councilors. A biographical lexicon. Artemis, Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-0702-X . P. 73
3. ↑ Nikolai Thelitz: The majority in the Federal Council did not study. In: 20 minutes . December 6, 2018, accessed December 6, 2018 . 

This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on November 25, 2008 .