Guy Parmelin

A master wine grower by trade, he was elected to the Grand Council of Vaud from 1994 until 2003, when he was elected to the National Council.[1] From 2000 to 2004, Parmelin was also president of the Swiss People's Party of the canton of Vaud. On 9 December 2015, he was elected by the Federal Assembly to the Federal Council in replacement of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.[2][3]

After the Swiss People's Party won a record vote of over 29% in the 2015 general election, Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf announced she would not run for reelection.[4][5] She had been expelled from the SVP shortly after her election and then founded the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD). The SVP was expected to take Widmer-Schlumpf's seat; it put forward three candidates, including Parmelin, who was ultimately elected.[6]

2021 Swiss Federal Council

Parmelin became the first SVP Federal Councillor from the French-speaking part of Switzerland.[6][7] He was selected to become head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, replacing fellow party member Ueli Maurer, who became head of the Federal Department of Finance.[8] Starting in 2019, Parmelin became the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. He served as Vice President of Switzerland for 2020. He assumed the presidency on 1 January 2021 alongside Vice President Ignazio Cassis.