List of members of the Swiss Federal Council

The seven members of the Swiss Federal Council (German: Schweizerischer Bundesrat; French: Conseil fédéral suisse; Italian: Consiglio federale svizzero; Romansh: Cussegl federal svizzer) constitute the federal government of Switzerland and serve as the country's head of state. Each of the seven Councillors heads a department of the Swiss federal administration.^[1]

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. A person elected to the Council by the Federal Assembly is considered a Federal Councillor even if he or she declines the election.^[2] Accordingly, the five persons who did so and never assumed office are listed in a separate table below. For the same reason, the principal table only records the date of election, and not the date on which the Councillors assumed their office.

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. Re-election is possible for an indefinite number of terms. Parliament has decided not to re-elect a sitting Councillor only four times, and only twice (in 2003 and 2007) since the beginning of the 20th century. In practice, therefore, Councillors serve until they decide to resign and retire to private life, usually after three to five terms of office.^[3]

Members

№	Name	Portrait	Canton[4]	Election	Left office	Department headed[5]	Party	Presidency	Notes	Seq[6]
1	Furrer, JonasJonas Furrer		ZH	16 November 1848	25 July 1861	Foreign affairs,[7] Justice	FDP/PRD	1848–49 1852 1855 1858	Died in office	A01
2	Ochsenbein, UlrichUlrich Ochsenbein		BE	16 November 1848	6 December 1854	Defence	FDP/PRD	—	Not re-elected[8]	B01
3	Druey, HenriHenri Druey		VD	16 November 1848	29 March 1855	Justice, Foreign affairs,[7] Finance	FDP/PRD	1850	Died in office	C01
4	Munzinger, JosefJosef Munzinger		SO	16 November 1848	6 February 1855	Finance, Foreign affairs,[7] Posts and Construction, Trade and Customs	FDP/PRD	1851	Died in office	D01
5	Franscini, StefanoStefano Franscini		TI	16 November 1848	19 July 1857	Home affairs	FDP/PRD	—	Died in office	E01
6	Frey-Herosé, FriedrichFriedrich Frey-Herosé		AG	16 November 1848	31 December 1866	Trade and Customs, Foreign affairs,[7] Defence	FDP/PRD	1854 1860		F01
7	Naeff, Wilhelm MatthiasWilhelm Matthias Naeff		SG	16 November 1848	31 December 1875	Posts and Construction, Foreign affairs,[7] Trade and Customs, Posts, Finance, Railway and Trade	FDP/PRD	1853		G01
8	Stampfli, JakobJakob Stämpfli		BE	6 December 1854	31 December 1863	Justice, Foreign affairs,[7] Finance, Defence	FDP/PRD	1856 1859 1862		B02
9	Fornerod, ConstantConstant Fornerod		VD	11 July 1855	31 October 1867	Trade and Customs, Foreign affairs,[7] Finance, Defence	FDP/PRD	1857 1863 1867		C02
10	Knüsel, Melchior Josef MartinMelchior Josef Martin Knüsel		LU	14 July 1855	31 December 1875	Finance, Trade and Customs, Justice, Foreign affairs,[7] Home affairs	FDP/PRD	1861 1866	Elected after Johann Jakob Stehlin declined the election	D02
11	Pioda, Giovanni BattistaGiovanni Battista Pioda		TI	30 July 1857	26 January 1864	Home affairs	FDP/PRD	—		E02
12	Dubs, JakobJakob Dubs		ZH	30 July 1861	28 May 1872	Justice, Foreign affairs,[7] Home affairs, Posts	FDP/PRD	1864 1868 1870		A02
13	Schenk, KarlKarl Schenk		BE	12 December 1863	18 July 1895	Home affairs, Finance, Railway and Trade	FDP/PRD	1865 1871 1874 1878 1885 1893	Died in office	B03
14	Challet-Venel, Jean-JacquesJean-Jacques Challet-Venel		GE	12 July 1864	7 December 1872	Finance, Posts	FDP/PRD	—	Not re-elected[9]	E03
15	Welti, EmilEmil Welti		AG	8 December 1866	31 December 1891	Defence, Trade and Customs, Posts and Telegraph, Posts and Railways, Justice	FDP/PRD	1869 1872 1876 1880 1884 1891		F02
16	Ruffy, VictorVictor Ruffy		VD	6 December 1867	29 December 1869	Finance, Defence	FDP/PRD	—	Died in office	C03
17	Ceresole, PaulPaul Cérésole		VD	1 February 1870	31 December 1875	Finance, Defence, Foreign affairs,[7] Justice	FDP/PRD	1873		C04
18	Scherer, Johann JakobJohann Jakob Scherer		ZH	12 July 1872	23 December 1878	Finance, Railway and Trade, Foreign affairs,[7] Defence	FDP/PRD	1875	Died in office	A03
19	Borel, EugèneEugène Borel		NE	7 December 1872	31 December 1875	Posts and Telegraph	FDP/PRD	—		E04
20	Heer, JoachimJoachim Heer		GL	10 December 1875	31 December 1878	Posts and Telegraph, Foreign affairs,[7] Railway and Trade	FDP/PRD	1877		D03
21	Anderwert, FridolinFridolin Anderwert		TG	10 December 1875	25 December 1880	Justice	FDP/PRD	—	Died in office (committed suicide)[10]	G02
22	Hammer, BernhardBernhard Hammer		SO	10 December 1875	31 December 1890	Finance, Defence	FDP/PRD	1879 1889		E05
23	Droz, NumaNuma Droz		NE	18 December 1875	18 December 1892	Home affairs, Trade and Agriculture, Foreign affairs	FDP/PRD	1881 1887	Elected after Louis Ruchonnet and Charles Estoppey declined the election.	C05
24	Bavier, SimeonSimeon Bavier		GR	10 December 1878	5 January 1883	Finance, Posts and Railways, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1882		D04
25	Hertenstein, WilhelmWilhelm Hertenstein		ZH	21 March 1879	27 November 1888	Defence	FDP/PRD	1888	Died in office	A04
26	Ruchonnet, LouisLouis Ruchonnet		VD	3 March 1881	14 September 1893	Economic affairs, Justice, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1883 1890	Elected after Karl Hoffmann declined his election. Died in office	G03
27	Deucher, AdolfAdolf Deucher		TG	10 April 1883	10 July 1912	Justice, Posts and Railways, Economic affairs, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1886 1897 1903 1909	Died in office	D05
28	Hauser, WalterWalter Hauser		ZH	13 December 1888	22 October 1902	Defence, Finance, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1892 1900	Died in office	A05
29	Frey, EmilEmil Frey		BL	11 December 1890	11 March 1897	Defence	FDP/PRD	1894		E06
30	Zemp, JosefJosef Zemp		LU	17 December 1891	17 June 1908	Posts and Railways, Foreign affairs[7]	CVP/PDC	1895 1902		F03
31	Lachenal, AdrienAdrien Lachenal		GE	15 December 1892	31 December 1899	Foreign affairs, Economic affairs, Home affairs	FDP/PRD	1896		C06
32	Ruffy, EugèneEugène Ruffy		VD	14 December 1893	31 October 1899	Justice, Home affairs, Foreign affairs,[7] Defence	FDP/PRD	1898		G04
33	Mueller, EduardEduard Müller		BE	16 August 1895	9 November 1919	Justice, Defence, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1899 1907 1913	Died in office	B04
34	Brenner, ErnstErnst Brenner		BS	25 March 1897	11 March 1911	Justice, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1901 1908	Died in office	E07
35	Comtesse, RobertRobert Comtesse		NE	14 December 1899	4 March 1912	Finance, Justice, Posts and Railways, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1904 1910		C07
36	Ruchet, Marc-EmileMarc-Emile Ruchet		VD	14 December 1899	9 July 1912	Home affairs, Finance, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1905 1911		G05
37	Forrer, LudwigLudwig Forrer		ZH	11 December 1902	7 December 1917	Economic affairs, Home affairs, Foreign affairs,[7] Defence, Justice, Posts and Railways	FDP/PRD	1906 1912		A06
38	Schobinger, Josef AntonJosef Anton Schobinger		LU	17 June 1908	27 November 1911	Justice, Economic affairs, Finance, Home affairs	CVP/PDC	—		F04
39	Hoffmann, ArthurArthur Hoffmann		SG	4 April 1911	19 June 1917	Justice, Defence, Foreign affairs	FDP/PRD	1914		E08
40	Motta, GiuseppeGiuseppe Motta		TI	14 December 1911	23 January 1940	Finance, Foreign affairs	CVP/PDC	1915 1920 1927 1932 1937		F05
41	Perrier, LouisLouis Perrier		NE	12 March 1912	16 May 1913	Posts and Railways, Home affairs	FDP/PRD	—		C08
42	Decoppet, CamilleCamille Decoppet		VD	17 July 1912	7 November 1919	Home affairs, Justice, Defence	FDP/PRD	1916		G06
43	Schulthess, EdmundEdmund Schulthess		AG	17 July 1912	15 April 1935	Economic affairs, Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1917 1921 1928 1933		D06
44	Calonder, FelixFelix Calonder		GR	12 June 1913	12 February 1920	Home affairs, Foreign affairs[7]	FDP/PRD	1918		C09
45	Ador, GustaveGustave Ador		GE	26 June 1917	31 December 1919	Foreign affairs, Home affairs	LPS/PLS	1919		E09
46	Haab, RobertRobert Haab		ZH	13 December 1917	31 December 1929	Posts and Railways	FDP/PRD	1922 1929		A07
47	Scheurer, KarlKarl Scheurer		BE	11 December 1919	14 November 1929	Defence	FDP/PRD	1923	Died in office	B05
48	Chuard, ErnestErnest Chuard		VD	11 December 1919	31 December 1928	Home affairs	FDP/PRD	1924		G07
49	Musy, Jean-MarieJean-Marie Musy		FR	11 December 1919	30 April 1934	Finance	CVP/PDC	1925 1930		E10
50	Häberlin, HeinrichHeinrich Häberlin		TG	12 February 1920	12 March 1934	Justice	FDP/PRD	1926 1931		C10
51	Pilet-Golaz, MarcelMarcel Pilet-Golaz		VD	13 December 1928	7 November 1944	Home affairs, Posts and Railways, Foreign affairs	FDP/PRD	1934 1940		G08
52	Minger, RudolfRudolf Minger		BE	12 December 1929	31 December 1940	Defence	SVP/UDC	1935		B06
53	Meyer, AlbertAlbert Meyer		ZH	12 December 1929	31 December 1938	Home affairs, Finance	FDP/PRD	1936		A08
54	Baumann, JohannesJohannes Baumann		AR	22 March 1934	31 December 1940	Justice	FDP/PRD	1938		C11
55	Etter, PhilippPhilipp Etter		ZG	28 March 1934	19 November 1959	Home affairs	CVP/PDC	1939 1942 1947 1953		E11
56	Obrecht, HermannHermann Obrecht		SO	4 April 1935	20 June 1940	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	—		D07
57	Wetter, ErnstErnst Wetter		ZH	15 December 1938	31 December 1943	Finance	FDP/PRD	1941		A09
58	Celio, EnricoEnrico Celio		TI	22 February 1940	23 June 1950	Posts and Railways	CVP/PDC	1943 1948		F06
59	Stampfli, WaltherWalther Stampfli		SO	18 July 1940	18 November 1947	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1944		D08
60	Steiger, Eduard vonEduard von Steiger		BE	10 December 1940	9 November 1951	Justice	SVP/UDC	1945 1951		B07
61	Kobelt, KarlKarl Kobelt		SG	10 December 1940	5 November 1954	Defence	FDP/PRD	1946 1952		C12
62	Nobs, ErnstErnst Nobs		ZH	15 December 1943	13 November 1951	Finance	SPS/PSS	1949		A10
63	Petitpierre, MaxMax Petitpierre		NE	14 December 1944	30 June 1961	Foreign affairs	FDP/PRD	1950 1955 1960		G09
64	Rubattel, RodolpheRodolphe Rubattel		VD	11 December 1947	1 November 1954	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1954		D09
65	Escher, JosefJosef Escher		VS	14 September 1950	26 November 1954	Posts and Railways	CVP/PDC	—		F07
66	Feldmann, MarkusMarkus Feldmann		BE	13 December 1951	3 November 1958	Justice	SVP/UDC	1956		B08
67	Weber, MaxMax Weber		ZH	13 December 1951	8 December 1953	Finance	SPS/PSS	—		A11
68	Streuli, HansHans Streuli		ZH	22 December 1953	19 November 1959	Finance	FDP/PRD	1957		A12
69	Holenstein, ThomasThomas Holenstein		SG	16 December 1954	20 November 1959	Economic affairs	CVP/PDC	1958		F08
70	Chaudet, PaulPaul Chaudet		VD	16 December 1954	28 November 1966	Defence	FDP/PRD	1959 1962		D10
71	Lepori, GiuseppeGiuseppe Lepori		TI	16 December 1954	24 November 1959	Posts and Railways	CVP/PDC	—		C13
72	Wahlen, Friedrich TraugottFriedrich Traugott Wahlen		BE	11 December 1958	31 December 1965	Justice, Economic affairs, Foreign affairs	SVP/UDC	1961		B09
73	Bourgknecht, JeanJean Bourgknecht		FR	17 December 1959	3 September 1962	Finance	CVP/PDC	—		E12
74	Spuhler, WillyWilly Spühler		ZH	17 December 1959	31 January 1970	Posts and Railways, Transport, Energy, Communications, Foreign affairs	SPS/PSS	1963 1968		A13
75	Moos, Ludwig vonLudwig von Moos		OW	17 December 1959	31 December 1971	Justice	CVP/PDC	1964 1969		F09
76	Tschudi, Hans-PeterHans-Peter Tschudi		BS	17 December 1959	31 December 1973	Home affairs	SPS/PSS	1965 1970		C14
77	Schaffner, HansHans Schaffner		AG	15 June 1961	31 December 1969	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1966		G10
78	Bonvin, RogerRoger Bonvin		VS	27 September 1962	31 December 1973	Finance, Transport, Energy, Communications	CVP/PDC	1967 1973		E13
79	Gnägi, RudolfRudolf Gnägi		BE	8 December 1965	31 December 1979	Transport, Energy, Communications, Defence	SVP/UDC	1971 1976		B10
80	Celio, NelloNello Celio		TI	15 December 1966	31 December 1973	Defence, Finance	FDP/PRD	1972		D11
81	Graber, PierrePierre Graber		NE	10 December 1969	31 January 1978	Foreign affairs	SPS/PSS	1975		A14
82	Brugger, ErnstErnst Brugger		ZH	10 December 1969	31 January 1978	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1974		G11
83	Furgler, KurtKurt Furgler		SG	8 December 1971	31 December 1986	Justice, Economic affairs	CVP/PDC	1977 1981 1985		F10
84	Ritschard, WilliWilli Ritschard		SO	5 December 1973	3 October 1983	Transport, Energy, Communications, Finance	SPS/PSS	1978	Died in office	C15
85	Hurlimann, HansHans Hürlimann		ZG	5 December 1973	31 December 1982	Home affairs	CVP/PDC	1979		E14
86	Chevallaz, Georges-AndréGeorges-André Chevallaz		VD	5 December 1973	31 December 1983	Finance, Defence	FDP/PRD	1980		D12
87	Honegger, FritzFritz Honegger		ZH	7 December 1977	31 December 1982	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1982		G12
88	Aubert, PierrePierre Aubert		NE	7 December 1977	31 December 1987	Foreign affairs	SPS/PSS	1983 1987		A15
89	Schlumpf, LeonLeon Schlumpf		GR	5 December 1979	31 December 1987	Transport, Energy, Communications	SVP/UDC	1984		B11
90	Egli, AlphonsAlphons Egli		LU	8 December 1982	31 December 1986	Home affairs	CVP/PDC	1986		E15
91	Friedrich, RudolfRudolf Friedrich		ZH	8 December 1982	20 October 1984	Justice	FDP/PRD	—		G13
92	Stich, OttoOtto Stich		SO	7 December 1983	31 October 1995	Finance	SPS/PSS	1988 1994		C16
93	Delamuraz, Jean-PascalJean-Pascal Delamuraz		VD	7 December 1983	30 March 1998	Defence, Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	1989 1996		D13
94	Kopp, ElisabethElisabeth Kopp		ZH	2 October 1984	12 January 1989	Justice	FDP/PRD	—		G14
95	Koller, ArnoldArnold Koller		AI	10 December 1986	13 January 1999	Justice, Defence	CVP/PDC	1990 1997		F11
96	Cotti, FlavioFlavio Cotti		TI	10 December 1986	13 January 1999	Home affairs, Foreign affairs	CVP/PDC	1991 1998		E16
97	Felber, RenéRené Felber		NE	9 December 1987	31 March 1993	Foreign affairs	SPS/PSS	1992		A16
98	Ogi, AdolfAdolf Ogi		BE	9 December 1987	31 December 2000	Transport, Energy, Communications, Defence	SVP/UDC	1993 2000		B12
99	Villiger, KasparKaspar Villiger		LU	1 February 1989	31 December 2003	Defence, Finance	FDP/PRD	1995 2002		G15
100	Dreifuss, RuthRuth Dreifuss		GE	10 March 1993	31 December 2002	Home affairs	SPS/PSS	1999	Elected after Francis Matthey declined the election.	A17
101	Leuenberger, MoritzMoritz Leuenberger		ZH	27 September 1995	1 November 2010	Transport, Energy, Communications	SPS/PSS	2001 2006		C17
102	Couchepin, PascalPascal Couchepin		VS	11 March 1998	31 October 2009	Economic affairs, Home affairs	FDP/PRD	2003 2008		D14
103	Metzler-Arnold, RuthRuth Metzler-Arnold		AI	11 March 1999	31 December 2003	Justice	CVP/PDC	—	Not re-elected[11]	F12
104	Deiss, JosephJoseph Deiss		FR	11 March 1999	31 July 2006	Foreign affairs, Economic affairs	CVP/PDC	2004		E17
105	Schmid, SamuelSamuel Schmid		BE	6 December 2000	31 December 2008[12]	Defence	BDP	2005	Elected for SVP/UDC	B13
106	Calmy-Rey, MichelineMicheline Calmy-Rey		GE	4 December 2002	31 December 2011	Foreign affairs	SPS/PSS	2007 2011		A18
107	Blocher, ChristophChristoph Blocher		ZH	10 December 2003	31 December 2007	Justice	SVP/UDC	—	Not re-elected.[13]	F13
108	Merz, Hans-RudolfHans-Rudolf Merz		AR	10 December 2003	1 November 2010	Finance	FDP/PRD	2009		G16
109	Leuthard, DorisDoris Leuthard		AG	14 June 2006	Incumbent	Economic Affairs, Transport, Energy, Communications	CVP/PDC	2010		E18
110	Widmer-Schlumpf, EvelineEveline Widmer-Schlumpf		GR	12 December 2007	31 December 2015	Justice, Finance	BDP	2012	Initially elected for SVP/UDC	F14
111	Maurer, UeliUeli Maurer		ZH	10 December 2008	Incumbent	Defence, Finance	SVP/UDC	2013		B14
112	Burkhalter, DidierDidier Burkhalter		NE	16 September 2009	Incumbent	Home affairs, Foreign affairs	FDP/PRD	2014		D15
113	Sommaruga, SimonettaSimonetta Sommaruga		BE	22 September 2010	Incumbent	Justice	SPS/PSS	2015		C18
114	Schneider-Ammann, JohannJohann Schneider-Ammann		BE	22 September 2010	Incumbent	Economic affairs	FDP/PRD	2016		G17
115	Berset, AlainAlain Berset		FR	14 December 2011	Incumbent	Home affairs	SPS/PSS	—		A19
116	Parmelin, GuyGuy Parmelin		VD	9 December 2015	Incumbent	Defence	SVP/UDC	–		F15

Legend:
    Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) after 1894; previously a more or less coherent group of Liberals, Radicals and Democrats^[14]
    Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC)
    Liberal Party (LPS/PLS)
    Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) after 1971; previously Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents (BGB/PAI) and associated minor parties
    Social Democratic Party (SPS/PSS)
    Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD) The Councillors currently serving are indicated with bold type.

Members who declined their election

Five people have declined their election to the Federal Council by the Federal Assembly. Their number here is that of the Federal Councillor in the list above who was later elected in their place.

№	Name	Canton	Election	Party	Notes
10	Stehlin, Johann JakobJohann Jakob Stehlin	BS	11 July 1855	FDP/PRD
23	Ruchonnet, LouisLouis Ruchonnet	VD	10 December 1875	FDP/PRD	Later elected as 26th member.
23	Estoppey, CharlesCharles Estoppey	VD	18 December 1875	FDP/PRD
26	Hoffmann, KarlKarl Hoffmann	SG	22 February 1881	FDP/PRD
100	Matthey, FrancisFrancis Matthey	NE	3 March 1993	SPS/PSS

Notes and references

1. Swiss Federal Constitution / Bundesverfassung (BV) / Constitution fédérale (Cst.) / Costituzione federale (Cost.) of 1999-02-07, SR/RS 101 ^(E·D·F·I), art. 177 ^(E·D·F·I).
2. This is the prevailing reading of the relevant constitutional provision: Swiss Federal Constitution / Bundesverfassung (BV) / Constitution fédérale (Cst.) / Costituzione federale (Cost.) of 1999-02-07, SR/RS 101 ^(E·D·F·I), art. 175 ^(E·D·F·I).
3. Federal Council in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
4. For the abbreviations, see Data codes for Switzerland: Cantons. Up until 1987, the Federal Chancellery recorded the Councillors' legal place of origin. From 1987 on, the canton in which the Councillors live has been recorded, or, for councillors who were members of the Federal Assembly, the canton whose population they represented.
5. The names of the federal departments have changed over the years. Generic names have been used as much as possible.
6. The sequence number indicates to which of the seven seats (denoted by the letters A to G) the Councillor was elected.
7. As President of the Confederation. The department used to be held by councillors during the annually changing office of President of the Confederation.
8. Ulrich Ochsenbein in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
9. Philippe Chenaux: Jean-Jacques Challet (-Venel) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2003-09-16.
10. Fridolin Anderwert in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
11. Franz Xaver Bischof: Ruth Metzler (-Arnold) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2007-11-27.
12. "Schmid announces resignation". Swissinfo. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
13. "Blocher ousted by Swiss parliament". Swissinfo. December 12, 2007.
14. Beginnings of the Free Democratic Party in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

• Federal Council in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Swiss Federal Chancellery. "The Swiss Confederation: A brief guide 2007". Retrieved 2008-02-10.
• Services of the Swiss Parliament. "Resultate der Wahlen des Bundesrats, der Bundeskanzler und des Generals" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
• Swiss Federal Chancellery. "Chronological index of Federal Councillors". Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
• Swiss Federal Chancellery. "Members of the Federal Council who declined election". Archived from the original on 2008-02-03. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
• Church, Clive H. (2004). The Politics and Government of Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-69277-2.