In a milestone year for Swiss politics, Parliament elected Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf to the Federal Council, the nation’s executive branch. Federal Councilor Widmer-Schlumpf is the third woman elected to the seven-member Cabinet this term—the highest representation of women on the body at one time in history. The Federal Council includes representatives from Switzerland’s four largest political parties and reaches decisions based on consensus. Federal Councilors are elected by Parliament every four years.

As the new head of the Justice and Police Department, Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf will oversee a broad range of issues from international legal assistance to internal security and asylum issues. She replaces her Swiss People’s Party colleague Christoph Blocher who was not reelected. Previously, Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf had a long and successful career in cantonal politics serving as head of her native Canton Graubunden’s finance department, president of the cantonal finance ministers’ conference, and vice-president of the board of directors of the Swiss National Bank. Federal Councilor Widmer-Schlumpf’s family is not new to politics; she follows in the footsteps of her father Leon Schlumpf who served as Federal Councilor from 1979-1987.

What are the critical issues of our time and how can we share best practices to address them? These are the questions that ThinkSwiss seeks to answer. Switzerland is a leading country in the areas of science, research and technology. Through its U.S.-wide program, ThinkSwiss-Brainstorm the Future, Switzerland is addressing key global topics such as [Back to Press Releases Main]