Swiss order of precedence
Encyclopedia
The Swiss order of precedence
is a hierarchy of important positions within the government
of Switzerland
. It has no legal standing but is used by ceremonial protocol
.
The order of precedence is determined by the Protocol Reglement and the Table of Precedence of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
. The upper part of the list reads as follows:
Order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
is a hierarchy of important positions within the government
Politics of Switzerland
The politics of Switzerland take place in the framework of a multi-party federal parliamentary democratic republic, whereby the Federal Council of Switzerland is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government and the federal administration and is not concentrated in any one...
of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It has no legal standing but is used by ceremonial protocol
Protocol (politics)
Protocol can mean any logbook or other artifact of a political meeting between persons from different nations, such as the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The most notorious example of a forged logbook is "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"....
.
The order of precedence is determined by the Protocol Reglement and the Table of Precedence of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland. It is charged with maintaining the foreign relations of Switzerland and serves as Switzerland's ministry of foreign affairs...
. The upper part of the list reads as follows:
- President of the Confederation (2011: Micheline Calmy-ReyMicheline Calmy-ReyMicheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is the President of the Confederation in Switzerland, head of government. She is also Switzerland's foreign minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2003, and was President of the...
) - Vice-President of the Federal CouncilSwiss Federal CouncilThe Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
(2011: Eveline Widmer-SchlumpfEveline Widmer-SchlumpfEveline Widmer-Schlumpf is a Swiss lawyer, politician, and member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2008. She is currently the head of the Federal Department of Finance ....
) - Federal CouncillorsSwiss Federal CouncilThe Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
in the order of their election by the Federal Assembly (2011: Micheline Calmy-ReyMicheline Calmy-ReyMicheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is the President of the Confederation in Switzerland, head of government. She is also Switzerland's foreign minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2003, and was President of the...
, Doris LeuthardDoris LeuthardDoris Leuthard is a Swiss politician and lawyer. Since 1 August 2006, she has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council. From 1 August 2006 till 31 October 2010 she was head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs...
, Ueli MaurerUeli MaurerUeli Maurer is a member of the Swiss Federal Council and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports...
, Didier BurkhalterDidier BurkhalterDidier Burkhalter is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals. He is a member of the Swiss Federal Council who was elected on 16 September 2009, and succeeded Pascal Couchepin on 1 November 2009 when he became head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs .A native of the Canton of Neuchâtel, he...
, Simonetta SommarugaSimonetta SommarugaSimonetta Sommaruga is a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. She is a member of the Swiss Federal Council, the federal government of Switzerland, and head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police .- Early life :Born in Zug, Sommaruga grew up with two brothers and...
, Johann Schneider-AmmannJohann Schneider-AmmannJohann Niklaus Schneider-Ammann is a Swiss businessman and politician. Member of the Free Democratic Party, he was elected to the Swiss National Council in 1999...
) - The General (elected only in case of war)
- President of the National Council (2010/11: Jean-René Germanier)
- President of the Council of States (2010/11: Hansheiri Inderkum)
- Chancellor of the Confederation (since 2008: Corina CasanovaCorina CasanovaCorina Casanova is the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland.Born 1956 in Ilanz, Graubünden, Casanova worked as a lawyer in the practice of the former President of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, Giusep Nay, as well as a Red Cross delegate in South Africa, Angola, Nicaragua and El Salvador...
) - President of the Federal Supreme CourtFederal Supreme Court of SwitzerlandThe Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland is the supreme court of Switzerland. It is located in Lausanne.According to the Constitution of Switzerland, the court has jurisdiction over violations of:*federal law;*public international law;*intercantonal law;...
(since 2009: Lorenz Meyer) - Former Federal Councillors in order of election (as of 2010: Pierre AubertPierre AubertPierre Aubert is a Swiss politician, lawyer and former member of the Swiss Federal Council ....
, Leon SchlumpfLeon SchlumpfLeon Schlumpf is a Swiss politician and a former member of the Swiss Federal Council .Schlumpf was elected to the Federal Council on December 5, 1979 as a member of the Swiss People's Party from the Canton of Graubünden...
, Rudolf FriedrichRudolf FriedrichRudolf Friedrich is a Swiss politician, lawyer and member of the Swiss Federal Council .He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on December 8, 1982 and, for health reason, resigned his office on October 20, 1984...
, Alphons EgliAlphons EgliAlphons Egli is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council .He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 8 December 1982 and handed over office on 31 December 1986...
, Otto StichOtto StichOtto Stich is a Swiss politician.He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 7 December 1983 and handed over office on 31 October 1995. He is affiliated to the Social Democratic Party....
, Elisabeth KoppElisabeth KoppElisabeth Kopp is a Swiss politician and the first woman elected to the Swiss Federal Council .Elisabeth Kopp grew up in Bern. After finishing her law studies in 1960 she married Hans W. Kopp...
, Flavio CottiFlavio CottiFlavio Cotti born in Prato-Sornico on 18 October 1939) is a Swiss politician.He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 10 December 1986 and handed over office on 30 April 1999...
, Arnold KollerArnold KollerArnold Koller is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council .He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on December 10, 1986 as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland from the canton of Appenzell Inner Rhodes...
, Adolf OgiAdolf OgiAdolf Ogi is a Swiss politician from the village of Kandersteg in the Swiss Alps.He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 9 December 1987, as member of the Swiss People's Party from the Canton of Berne...
, René FelberRené FelberRené Felber is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council .Born 1933 in Bienne, Felber was a teacher in Boudevilliers and Le Locle . He was mayor of Le Locle from 1964 to 1980 , member of the Cantonal Parliament of Neuchâtel...
, Kaspar VilligerKaspar VilligerKaspar Villiger is a Swiss businessman, politician and former member of the Swiss Federal Council . He currently heads Swiss bank UBS.-Political career:On February 1, 1989, he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council...
, Ruth DreifussRuth DreifussRuth Dreifuss is a Swiss politician affiliated with the Social Democratic Party. She was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1993 to 2002, representing the Canton of Geneva)....
, Moritz LeuenbergerMoritz LeuenbergerMoritz Leuenberger is a Swiss politician, lawyer, was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1995 to 2010 and President of the Confederation in 2001 and in 2006....
, Pascal CouchepinPascal CouchepinPascal Couchepin is a Swiss politician, former member of the Swiss Federal Council and President of the Confederation in 2003 and 2008...
, Ruth MetzlerRuth MetzlerRuth Metzler-Arnold is a Swiss politician and former member of the Swiss Federal Council .She was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 11 March 1999, as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party from the Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden. During her time in office she has headed the...
, Joseph DeissJoseph DeissJoseph Deiss is an economist, Swiss politician and a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party . From 1999 to 2006, he was a member of the Swiss Federal Council, heading first the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and then the Federal Department of Economic Affairs...
, Samuel SchmidSamuel SchmidSamuel Schmid is a Swiss politician who was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2000 to 2008. He was the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports .He was elected to the Federal Council on 6 December 2000...
, Christoph BlocherChristoph BlocherChristoph Blocher is a Swiss politician, industrialist, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police . Currently he is serving as Vice President of the Swiss People's Party...
, Hans-Rudolf MerzHans-Rudolf MerzHans-Rudolf Merz is a Swiss politician of FDP.The Liberals and member of the Swiss Federal Council . He is the head of the Federal Department of Finance and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009...
) - Presidents of the cantonCantons of SwitzerlandThe 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
al governments in the order given in the ConstitutionSwiss Federal ConstitutionThe Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the...
. - Cardinals, Members of the Council of the Swiss Union of Evangelical Churches, and Grand RabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s - First and Second Vice Presidents of the National Council
- First and Second Vice Presidents of the Council of States
- Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court
- BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s - Secretaries of State
- Members of the National Council in order of election
- Members of the Council of States in order of election
- Judges of the Federal Supreme Court