Demographics of the Swiss Federal Council

The tables below show information and statistics about the members of the Swiss Federal Council (in German: Bundesrat, in French: conseil fédéral, in Italian: consiglio federale), or Federal Councilors (in German: Bundesräte, in French: conseillers fédéraux, in Italian: consiglieri federali).

The Swiss Federal Council, 2008. Official photograph.

The Swiss Federal Council (German: Schweizerischer Bundesrat, French: Conseil fédéral suisse, Italian: Consiglio federale svizzero, Romansh: Cussegl federal svizzer) is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the government as well as the head of state of Switzerland. Each of the seven Federal Councillors heads a department of the Swiss federal government. The members of the Federal Council are elected for a term of four years by both chambers of the federal parliament sitting together as the Federal Assembly. Each Councillor is elected individually by secret ballot by an absolute majority of votes. Since 1848, the seven Councillors have never been replaced simultaneously, thus guaranteeing a continuity of the government.

Once elected for a four-year-term, Federal Councillors can neither be voted out of office by a motion of no confidence nor can they be impeached. Reelection is possible for an indefinite number of terms, and it has historically been extremely rare for Parliament not to reelect a sitting Councillor and this has only happened four times. In practice, therefore, Councillors serve until they decide to resign and retire to private life, usually after three to five terms of office.

Parties
Parties Members
FDP/PRD (Freisinnige, parti radical)67
LPS/PLS1
CVP/PDC (formerly KVP)20
SVP/UDC (formerly BGB/PAI)10
SPS/PSS12

Time in office
Longest time:
Schenk died in his 32nd year in office.
Shortest time:
Perrier died just 14 months after his election.

The following tables do not include councilors currently in office.

Longest Time in Office
Years Name Term
31Karl Schenk1863–1895
29Adolf Deucher1883–1912
28Giuseppe Motta1911–1940
27Wilhelm Matthias Naeff1848–1875
25Emil Welti1866–1891
Philipp Etter1934–1959
24Eduard Müller1895–1919
22Edmund Schulthess1912–1935
20Melchior Josef Martin Knüsel1855–1875
Shortest Time in Office
Years Name Term
1Louis Perrier1912–1913
Rudolf Friedrich1982–1984
2Gustave Ador1917–1919
Jean Bourgknecht1959–1962
Max Weber1951–1954
Victor Ruffy1867–1869
3Eugène Borel1872–1875
Joachim Heer1875–1878
Josef Anton Schobinger1908–1911
4Christoph Blocher2003–2007
Alphons Egli1983–1986
Elisabeth Kopp1984–1989
Josef Escher1950–1954
Ruth Metzler1999–2003
5Ernst Wetter1938–1943
Fridolin Anderwert1875–1880
Fritz Honegger1977–1982
Giuseppe Lepori1954–1959
Hermann Obrecht1935–1940
Paul Cérésole1870–1875
René Felber1987–1993
Thomas Holenstein1955–1959

Age (oldest and youngest)
The Oldest:
Ador was elected at age 72
The Youngest:
Numa Droz was 31 years old at his election
Age when elected
Age Name Elected
72Gustave Ador1917
65Josef Escher1950
63Louis Perrier1912
Christoph Blocher2003
62Ernest Chuard1919
61Ernst Wetter1938
Hans Streuli1953
Pierre Graber1969
Hans-Rudolf Merz2004
60Fritz Honegger1977
Johannes Baumann1934
...
39Eugène Ruffy1893
Jakob Dubs1861
Marcel Pilet-Golaz1928
38Paul Cérésole1870
37Ulrich Ochsenbein1848
36Constant Fornerod1855
Eugène Borel1872
35Ruth Metzler1999
34Jakob Stämpfli1854
31Numa Droz1875
Age when resigning/dying in office
Age Name Year
81Adolf Deucher1912
74Gustave Ador1919
73Joseph Zemp1908
Wilhelm Matthias Naeff1875
72Ludwig Forrer1917
71Karl Schenk1895
Ernest Chuard1928
70Eduard Müller1919
Eduard von Steiger1951
...
50Adrien Lachenal1899
49Jakob Dubs1872
48Constant Fornerod1867
Numa Droz1892
46Victor Ruffy1869
43Jakob Stämpfli1863
Paul Cérésole1875
Ulrich Ochsenbein1854
40Eugène Borel1875
39Ruth Metzler2004

Lifespan
Ochsenbein lived for 36 years after being voted out of office
The Oldest:
Schaffner died at age 95 in 2004
Years alive after resigning from office
YearsNameDied
36Ulrich Ochsenbein1890
35Hans Schaffner2004
33Max Petitpierre1994
32Constant Fornerod1899
Felix-Louis Calonder1952
Elisabeth KoppLiving
30Enrico Celio1980
Paul Cérésole1905
29Hans-Peter Tschudi2002
Alphons Egli2016
28Rudolf Friedrich2013
Pierre Aubert2016
26René Felber2020
Longest living members of the Swiss Federal Council
AgeNameDied
95Hans Schaffner2004
Max Petitpierre1994
94Pierre Graber2003
91Alphons Egli2016
90Enrico Celio1980
Rudolf Friedrich2013
88Felix-Louis Calonder1952
Hans-Peter Tschudi2002
Willy Spühler1990
Pierre Aubert2016
87Georges-André Chevallaz2002
René Felber2020
Arnold KollerLiving

References
  • Federal Council in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  • The Swiss Confederation: A brief guide 2006, edited by the Swiss Federal Chancellery.
  • "Resultate der Wahlen des Bundesrats, der Bundeskanzler und des Generals" (PDF)., compiled by the services of the Swiss Parliament.
  • Clive H. Church (2004). The Politics and Government of Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-69277-2.
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