Country name:
conventional long form: Swiss Confederation
conventional short form: Switzerland
local short form: Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera
(Italian)
local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German),
Confederation Suisse (French), Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
Bern
Administrative divisions:
26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular
- cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German); Aargau,
Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden, Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft,
Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Jura,
Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen,
Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich
Independence:
1 August 1291 (Founding of the Swiss Confederation)
National holiday:
Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291)
Constitution:
18 December 1998
Legal system:
civil law system influenced by customary law; judicial review of
legislative acts, except with respect to federal decrees of general
obligatory character; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Pascal COUCHEPIN (since 1 January 2003);
Vice President Ruth METZLER (since 1 January 2003); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Pascal COUCHEPIN (since 1 January
2003); Vice President Ruth METZLER (since 1 January 2003); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal
(in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) elected by the Federal
Assembly usually from among its own members for a four-year term
elections: president and vice president elected by the Federal
Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council for one-year
terms that run concurrently; election last held NA December 2002
(next to be held NA December 2003)
election results: Pascal COUCHEPIN elected president; percent of
Federal Assembly vote - NA%; Ruth METZLER elected vice president;
percent of legislative vote - NA%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung (in German),
Assemblee Federale (in French), Assemblea Federale (in Italian)
consists of the Council of States or Standerat (in German), Conseil
des Etats (in French), Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats
- members serve four-year terms) and the National Council or
Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio
Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats - members are elected by popular
vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year
terms)
elections: Council of States - last held NA 1999 (each canton
determines when the next election will be held); National Council -
last held 19 October 2003 (next to be held NA October 2007)
election results: Council of States - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - FDP 18, CVP 15, SVP 7, SPS 6; National Council
- percent of vote by party - SVP 27.7%, SPS 24.2%, FDP 16%, CVP
12.9%, Greens 7.7%, other small parties all under 5%; seats by party
- SVP 55, SPS 52, FDP 36, CVP 28, Green Party 13, other small
parties 16
Judicial branch:
Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the
Federal Assembly)
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic People's Party (Christichdemokratische
Volkspartei der Schweiz or CVP, Parti Democrate-Chretien Suisse or
PDC, Partito Democratico-Cristiano Popolare Svizzero or PDC, Partida
Cristiandemocratica dalla Svizra or PCD) [Philipp STAEHELIN,
president]; Green Party (Grune Partei der Schweiz or Grune, Parti
Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts, Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I
Verdi, Partida Ecologica Svizra or La Verda) [Ruth GENNER and
Patrice MUGNY, co-presidents]; Radical Free Democratic Party
(Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP, Parti
Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD, Partitio Liberal-Radicale
Svizzero or PLR) [Christiane LANGENBERGER, president]; Social
Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz or SPS,
Parti Socialist Suisse or PSS, Partito Socialista Svizzero or PSS,
Partida Socialdemocratica de la Svizra or PSS) [Christiane BRUNNER,
president]; Swiss People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP,
Union Democratique du Centre or UDC, Unione Democratica de Centro or
UDC, Uniun Democratica dal Center or UDC) [Ueli MAURER, president];
and other minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNU, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Christian BLICKENSTORFER
consulate(s): Boston
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New
York, and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 387-2564
telephone: [1] (202) 745-7900
chancery: 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mercer REYNOLDS III
embassy: Jubilaeumsstrasse 93, 3005 Bern
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [41] (031) 357 70 11
FAX: [41] (031) 357 73 44
Flag description:
red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that
does not extend to the edges of the flag