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102-489: Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title UEK . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. UEK can refer to: Bergier commission Kraków University of Economics Workers' and Peasants' Party (Liechtenstein) Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Union of Protestant Churches in

204-455: A pension equivalent to half the salary of Federal Council members in office. If a councillor leaves office for health reasons, they may receive this pension even if their length of service was less than three years. Councillors who leave their offices after less than four years may also receive a partial pension. After leaving office, "former federal councillors frequently pursue some other lucrative activity," but "their earnings, when added to

306-473: A general history of Switzerland during the Nazi era; rather, it took as its task "to shed light upon certain controversial or insufficiently analyzed aspects of this history, aspects in which it appeared that Switzerland, that is to say its political authorities and economic decision-makers, had perhaps been derelict in assuming their responsibilities." The commission was given unprecedented powers and resources by

408-492: A historical and legal point of view, with a particular emphasis on the links between the Nazi regime and Swiss banks. The mandate covers almost every type of asset , including gold , currency and cultural assets. The content of the research program was broadened by the government to include economic relations, arms production, "Aryanisation measures", the monetary system, and refugee policy. The commission did not set out to write

510-543: A lesser extent, the USA). Germany during the period July 1940 and July 1944 became the largest importer of Swiss goods. Thus domestic production (and employment) was directly linked on the success of trade negotiations, particularly with the German government. The actual supplies of armament related goods exported to Germany was quite small: just 1% of German armament end products. Some specialized items, i.e. time fuses accounted for

612-526: A little more than 10%. Far more important was the role played by Switzerland's open capital market—sale of gold and securities—and as the Franc was the only convertible currency available to the Axis powers, it played a vital role in paying for certain strategic imports such as tungsten and oil. In order to finance its imports from Switzerland, the German government demanded "clearing loans" which took

714-472: A more moderate SVP/UDC politician, against party policy. This led to a split of the SVP/UDC in 2008. After liberal regional SVP/UDC groups including Federal Councillors Widmer-Schlumpf and Samuel Schmid founded a new Conservative Democratic Party , the SVP/UDC was left in opposition for the first time since 1929, but returned into the council with the election of Ueli Maurer on 10 December 2008, who regained

816-566: A personal bailiff ( huissier or Bundesweibel ) who accompanies them, in a red and white ceremonial uniform, to official events. The spouses of Councillors do not play an official part in the business of government, apart from accompanying the Councillors to official receptions. Federal councillors receive an annual salary of CHF 472,958, plus another CHF 30,000 annually for expenses. The councillors pay tax on this income. Former councillors with at least four years of service receive

918-470: A preliminary report for the commission, an estimate of 24,000 "documented rejections" was published. However, in the final report, perhaps having taken into account criticism of the earlier figures, the commission was more cautious, indicating that it must be assumed that "Switzerland turned back or deported over 20,000 refugees during the Second World War." Specifically, they reported that during

1020-563: A seat to fill presents two candidates with mainstream viewpoints to the United Federal Assembly, which then chooses one. This was not so, however, during the 2003 election , which was the most controversial in recent memory. Until the end of the 19th century, it was informally required of Federal Councillors to be elected to the National Council in their canton of origin every four years to put their popularity to

1122-399: A sitting Councillor. This has only happened four times – to Ulrich Ochsenbein in 1854, to Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel in 1872, to Ruth Metzler in 2003 and to Christoph Blocher in 2007. In practice, therefore, Councillors serve until they decide to resign and retire to private life, usually after three to five terms of office. Unlike most senior members of government in other countries,

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1224-692: A term of four years by both chambers of the Federal Assembly sitting together as the United Federal Assembly. Each Federal Council seat is up for (re-)election in the order of seniority, beginning with the Councillor who had the longest term of office. The office holders are then elected individually by secret ballot by an absolute majority of the valid votes. Every adult Swiss citizen is eligible (and could even be elected against his own will), but in practice, only members of Parliament or more rarely, members of cantonal governments, are nominated by

1326-533: A test. This practice was known under the French term of élection de compliment . The first Councillor who failed to be reelected ( Ulrich Ochsenbein ) lost his election to the National Council in 1854. Once elected, Councillors remain members of their political parties, but hold no leading office with them. In fact, they usually maintain a certain political distance from the party leadership, because under

1428-554: Is all the more serious in view of the fact that the authorities, who were quite aware of the possible consequences of their decision, not only closed the borders in August 1942, but continued to apply this restrictive policy for over a year. By adopting numerous measures making it more difficult for refugees to reach safety, and by handing over the refugees caught directly to their persecutors, the Swiss authorities were instrumental in helping

1530-688: Is also used to host official guests of the Swiss Confederation. While Councillors can draw on an Army security detail if they need personal protection, in particular during official events, they are often encountered without any escort in the streets, restaurants and tramways of Bern. Ueli Maurer was known to use the bicycle on most days from his apartment in Münsingen to the Federal Palace in Bern. Councillors are also entitled to

1632-550: Is colloquially referred to as its " field trip ", a day trip to some attractions in the President's home canton. In that and other respects, the council operates like a board of directors of a major corporation. Each Federal Councillor heads a government department, much like the ministers in the governments of other countries. Colloquially and by the press (especially outside Switzerland), they are often referred to as ministers even though no such post formally exists. For example,

1734-402: Is not whether Switzerland should or could have maintained its business contacts and foreign trade with the warring powers in the first place, but rather how far these activities went: in other words, where the line should be drawn between unavoidable concessions and intentional collaboration." Switzerland which relied heavily on foreign trade experienced an increasingly difficult position during

1836-680: The Right . In due course, the CVP received its second seat in 1919 with Jean-Marie Musy , while the BGB joined the council in 1929 with Rudolf Minger . In 1943, during World War II, the Social Democrats were also temporarily included with Ernst Nobs . The 1959 elections, following the resignation of four councillors, finally established the Zauberformel , the "magical formula" that determined

1938-582: The Swiss Confederation . Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since after World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand coalition government composed of representatives of the country's major parties and language regions . While the entire Federal Council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland , each Councillor heads one of

2040-588: The Swiss order of precedence , the president of the Confederation is the highest-ranking Swiss official. They preside over council meetings and carry out certain representative functions that, in other countries, are the business of a head of state. In urgent situations where a council decision cannot be made in time, they are empowered to act on behalf of the whole council. Apart from that, though, they are primus inter pares , having no power above and beyond

2142-550: The canton of Zurich were in office. It happened again between 2010 and 2018, starting when Simonetta Sommaruga and Johann Schneider-Ammann from the canton of Bern were elected in 2010 . As of 2023, four cantons have never been represented on the Federal Council: Nidwalden , Schaffhausen , Schwyz , Uri . The canton of Jura is the most recent canton to be represented; since 1 January 2023, it has been represented by Elisabeth Baume-Schneider . With

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2244-490: The 1984 election of Elisabeth Kopp . In 1983, the failed election of the first official female candidate, Lilian Uchtenhagen and again in 1993 the failed election of Christiane Brunner (both SP/PS), was controversial and the Social Democrats each time considered withdrawing from the council altogether. There were two female councillors serving simultaneously for the first time in 1999, and three out of seven councillors were women from 2007 till 2010, when Simonetta Sommaruga

2346-559: The Constitution was written, constitutional democracy was still in its infancy, and the founding fathers of Switzerland had little in the way of examples. While they drew heavily on the United States Constitution for the organisation of the federal state as a whole, they opted for the collegial rather than the presidential system for the executive branch of government ( directorial system ). This accommodated

2448-546: The EKD Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UEK&oldid=1233102194 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Bergier commission Founded in a decade when Switzerland had come under recurring criticism for its behaviour during World War II , particularly with respect to its relations with

2550-514: The FDP councillors seats were unsuccessfully attacked by the green party. The following councillors were reelected: Following the resignation of Alain Berset as of 31 December 2023, replacement elections were held: In addition, Viktor Rossi ( GLP ) was newly elected as Federal Chancellor with 135 out of 245 votes cast in the second round of voting. Additionally Viola Amherd was elected President of

2652-481: The Federal Council at the same time. For most of Swiss history, the canton of any given councillor was determined by their place of origin, but starting in 1987 this was changed to the canton from which they were elected (for former members of the Federal Assembly or cantonal legislative or executive bodies) or place of residence. Nothing prevented candidates from moving to politically expedient cantons; this

2754-399: The Federal Council's unique nature as a voluntary grand coalition of political opponents, its operation is subject to numerous constitutional conventions . Most notable is the principle of collegiality ; that is, the Councillors are not supposed to publicly criticise one another, even though they are often political opponents. In effect, they are expected to publicly support all decisions of

2856-612: The Federal Councillors are not entitled to an official residence . However, the Federal Palace houses living apartments for both the Federal Chancellor and President of the Confederation . Mostly, Federal Councillors have chosen to rent apartments or hotel suites in Bern at their own expense. However, they are entitled to use the Federal Council's country estate, Lohn , for holidays, and this estate

2958-688: The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, after the First World War, Switzerland was not immune to xenophobic and antisemitic sentiments that were spreading through Europe. As in other Western countries in the 1930s, Switzerland, increasingly applied restrictions on the admission of foreigners in the name of national security. Switzerland, apparently on its own initiative began to openly apply racist selection criteria according to

3060-593: The German laws were passed. Toward the end of 1937, Swiss insurers came under increasing pressure to get rid of all Jewish employees not only in their offices in Germany, but also in their home offices in Switzerland. "With one exception, Swiss insurers supported the furnishing of such proof, thus endorsing discrimination against the Jews and extending the scope of Germany's racial laws to Switzerland as well." After

3162-564: The German state bank sold gold valued 101.2 million Swiss francs to Swiss commercial banks and 1,231.1 million francs through the Swiss National Bank (SNB). While its trading role as such could be seen as the result of maintaining neutrality, a proportion of the gold had in fact been stolen from private individuals and the central banks of Germany's defeated neighbors (particularly Belgium and the Netherlands). This looted gold

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3264-570: The Nazi definition. Initial reports produced by the Bergier Commission received news coverage as they suggested that, in 1938, even before the war broke out, the Swiss Government requested the Nazi authorities to stamp all passports of German Jews with a "J" as the Swiss did not recognize the right to asylum of those fleeing racial persecution. The final report did not deem the "J stamp" a Swiss 'idea' but rather stated that

3366-538: The Nazi government in Germany, the commission was established by the Swiss Parliament and headed by Jean-François Bergier , an economic historian. Made up of Polish, American, Israeli and Swiss historians, the commission's mandate was to investigate the volume and fate of assets moved to Switzerland before, during, and immediately after the Second World War . The investigation was to be made from

3468-508: The Nazi regime to attain its goals. Refugee figures are hard to come by. However the commission concluded that during the Second World War Switzerland offered refuge from Nazi persecution to some 60,000 refugees for varying periods of time, a little under 50% of whom were Jewish. The commission carefully explained the difficulty of estimating the number of refugees, most of whom were probably Jewish, turned away. In

3570-718: The Nazi's flouting of established legal tradition....In this way, the Swiss insurers helped to cover up events which would have cast the completely illegal and immoral methods of the German state and party organisation in November 1938 into sharp relief." Swiss companies who were operating during the Nazi period in Germany had already been well-established before the Nazis came to power. Apparently, business concerns rather than an ideological commitment to Nazis determined their continued operation. However, established Swiss companies continued to operate although they adapted in different ways to

3672-444: The Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933. Many in the Swiss insurance sector were worried that German nationalism and xenophobia (not to mention the rise of a virulent anti-semitic ideology) would have adverse effects on it. This led some Swiss insurance firms (i.e. Vereinigte Krankenversicherungs AG, a subsidiary of Schweizer Rück) to anticipate German laws before they were enacted by dismissing their Jewish employees in 1933 even before

3774-419: The Nazis regime. The contribution of Swiss companies to the German war effort was important, if not decisive. The vast majority of the production of Swiss-owned companies in Germany was civilian goods. The commission concluded: "Among the few neutral countries, Switzerland made the greatest contribution towards the German war effort since it was Switzerland which had the greatest presence in both Germany itself and

3876-639: The Reich was at least 300 million francs. Postwar restitution: After negotiations, the Swiss government signed the Washington Agreement in May 1946 which called to a payment by the Swiss of 250 million francs in exchange for the dropping of claims relating to the Swiss role in incriminating gold transactions during the war period. However, the controversial issue of gold looted from the Netherlands

3978-565: The Swiss Confederation for the year 2024 and Karin Keller-Sutter was elected vice president of the Federal Council for the year 2024. Following the elections there was a departmental reshuffle. Élisabeth Baume-Schneider took over the Federal Department of Home Affairs vacated by Alain Berset and newly elected Beat Jans took over Baume-Schneiders Justice and Police Department. The members of the Federal Council are elected for

4080-526: The Swiss Parliament: In the course of its work, the commission identified three areas where the government failed to carry out its responsibilities: The commission presented its final report in March 2002. Since the 19th century, Switzerland had a positive humanitarian image based upon the tradition of granting asylum, providing good offices, humanitarian aid, particularly through the work of

4182-401: The Swiss banks were murdered by the Nazi regime. Some of their assets were handed over to the German government while the rest remained in dormant accounts in the Swiss financial institutions. After the war the resolution of the assets that had been handed over as well as the dormant accounts and looted securities was not solved. ICE reported: The banks were able to use the amounts remaining in

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4284-486: The Swiss executive branch, the Federal Council , was responsible for consenting to an agreement with Germany that established its creation (although Swiss ambassador to Nazi Germany Hans Frölicher's support for the "J-Stamp", as part of the ongoing negotiations, was also mentioned.): "It was the Federal Council which decided to close the borders on 18 August 1938, which signed the agreement with Germany concerning

4386-440: The accounts and to earn income from them. They showed little interest in actively seeking accounts of Nazi victims, justifying their inaction with the confidentiality desired by their customers. What the victims of National Socialism and their heirs thought to be the advantages of the Swiss banking system turned out to be disadvantageous for them. The German market was an important market for the Swiss insurance companies even before

4488-413: The bill at issue. The decisions themselves are formally taken by voice vote by a majority of the Councillors present at a meeting. However, the great majority of decisions are arrived at by consensus ; even though lately there is said to be a trend towards more contentious discussions and close votes. The meetings of the Federal Council and the result of the votes taken are not open to the public, and

4590-499: The borders with Austria or France." The commission identified a number of areas, particularly in the domain of private international law , where the courts applied the doctrine of " ordre public " which is an explicit ethical component of law: for example, Swiss courts "consistently took the view that Nazi anti-Semitic legislation must be deemed to constitute injustice which violated all legal principles and should therefore not be applied in practice." However, this doctrine based on what

4692-399: The cantons, the political parties and major interest groups are invited, and in which all members of the public can participate. If a change in a federal statute is to be proposed to the Federal Assembly, this step is mandated by law. In such cases, the consultation procedure also serves to identify political concerns that could later be the focus of a popular referendum to stop passage of

4794-552: The collegial system of government has found widespread adoption in modern democracies in the form of cabinet government with collective responsibility. The 1848 constitutional provision providing for the Federal Council ;– and indeed the institution of the Council itself – has remained unchanged to this day, even though Swiss society has changed profoundly since. The 1848 Constitution

4896-663: The commission found that the practice of certifying the Aryan origin of its staff was widespread among owners and senior managers of Swiss companies in Nazi-occupied territory. Even before 1938, the Swiss Federal Political Department had suggested the applying of German law concerning race to Swiss companies. The commission concluded that this "clearly shows that the FPD, ..., either completely misjudged

4998-454: The commission was unable to say much more about the size and importance of such involvement, concluding that "the notion that the trade in looted art – compared with the occupied territories of Western Europe – took place on a particularly large scale could not be confirmed. Conversely, one could argue that it is astonishing that this trade assumed such dimensions in Switzerland, a non-occupied country, which continued to function in accordance with

5100-469: The council are always prepared by the responsible department. Accordingly, a change in the salaries of federal employees would be proposed to the council by the head of the Federal Department of Finance , to whose department the Federal Office of Personnel belongs. Before a vote is taken at a council meeting, though, all proposals are circulated in writing to the heads of departments, who commission

5202-416: The council's 2023 iteration, the constitutional requirement that languages and regions be appropriately balanced is under increased strain. "Latin speakers" – people who either speak French, Italian, or Romansh – now form a majority on the council, despite more than seventy percent of the Swiss citizens speaking German as a first language. Likewise, no current Federal Councillors grew up in an urban area (with

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5304-490: The council's composition during the rest of the 20th century and established the long-standing nature of the council as a permanent, voluntary grand coalition . In approximate relation to the parties' respective strength in the Federal Assembly, the seats were distributed as follows: During that time, the FDP/PRD and CVP/PDC very slowly but steadily kept losing voter share to the SVP/UDC and SP/PS, respectively, which overtook

5406-446: The council, even against their own personal opinion or that of their political party. In the eye of many observers, this convention has become rather strained after the 2003 elections (see below). Due to the fact that technically no sole federal councillor but rather the entire council in corpore is the Swiss head of state , Federal Councillors did for a long time not travel abroad in official business. In other countries, Switzerland

5508-415: The countries it occupied." Finally, after the end of the war, the same companies which operated in Germany during the war were "able to continue or revive their activities without any major problems." Switzerland was an important hub for the traffic and trade in cultural assets such as paintings and other art objects. During the period between 1933 and 1945, the art market in Switzerland flourished. Much of

5610-419: The destructive pogrom riots on the night of 9 to 10 November 1938 , the German government issued an ordinance that Jews should pay for the destruction caused by the anti-Jewish rioters themselves and that any insurance money that was paid out should be paid to the German state rather than to the private individuals affected. The ICE found that, "In general, the Swiss companies reacted with remarkable passivity to

5712-717: The end of the war and even later." There was very dubious trading on the unregulated Swiss security markets: looted assets from the newly occupied countries found their way into the Swiss markets, provoking a warning issued by the Allies in January 1943. "In 1946, the value of securities of dubious provenance to find their way to Switzerland during the war was estimated by the Federal Department of Finance (Eidgenössisches Finanzdepartement, EFD) to be between 50 and 100 million francs." Many foreigners who deposited money with

5814-508: The end of the war. Statistics indicating what proportion of the gold transferred was looted gold are hard to calculate. However, the commission points out that looted central bank reserves, mainly from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg totaled 1,582 million francs and that the amount of gold stolen from Holocaust victims in Eastern Europe has been estimated 12.5 million francs while that expropriated and looted from individuals in

5916-462: The exception of Karin Keller-Sutter , who spent some school years in Neuchâtel NE ). Whenever a member resigns, they are generally replaced by someone who is not only from the same party, but also the same language group. In 2006, however, Joseph Deiss , a French-speaker , resigned and was succeeded by Doris Leuthard , a German-speaker . In 2016, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf , a German-speaker,

6018-688: The existence of the J-Stamp in the 1950s. (See below: § Questioning the J-Stamp being a Swiss invention ) With the increasing persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime, Swiss restrictions were set apart from other restrictive policies of the Allies due to its geographical location: it was the easiest country on the continent for refugees to reach. Thousands of refugees were sent back even though authorities knew that they were likely sending them to their deaths. The ICE concluded: Switzerland, and in particular its political leaders, failed when it came to generously offering protection to persecuted Jews. This

6120-532: The extermination of the Jews. In addition, Credit Suisse and the Swiss Bank Corporation closely cooperated with major German banks which resulted "in some of the most questionable transactions of the wartime period: dealings with gold booty and/or looted gold. As late as 1943, the Union Bank of Switzerland granted Deutsche Bank a new loan of over 500,000 francs. Relations were maintained until

6222-599: The failure of the state to offer any diplomatic protection to Swiss Jews residing in Nazi occupied territory. They conclude, "...diplomatic practice increasingly came into line with the ethnic «völkisch» criteria adopted by the Nazi state, an approach which sharply conflicted with the constitutional equality enjoyed by Jews in Switzerland since 1874." With respect to refugees, under existing Swiss domestic law, only refugees whose lives were at risk because of political activities could be granted asylum. This meant those who were fleeing because of racial persecution could be returned to

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6324-648: The first Italian speaker to serve on the council since 1999. For elections to the Federal Council , candidates are usually helped by a high degree of fluency in German, French, and Italian. Each year, one of the seven councillors is elected by the United Federal Assembly as President of the Confederation . The Federal Assembly also elects a vice president of Switzerland. By convention, the positions of president and vice president rotate annually, each councillor thus becoming vice president and then president every seven years while in office. According to

6426-402: The form of state guarantees to exporters. "The Swiss clearing loans made it possible for the German and Italian armies to fund their large-scale armaments purchases in Switzerland." Whether the contribution of Swiss exports to German rearmament during the war is considered to have been more or less significant does not affect the principal findings of our investigation. Of greater importance was

6528-541: The gold purches, as well as to its own advisors and the Swiss jurists whom it had consulted. It is hardly surprising that the SNB's decisions have—quite legitimately—been the subject of historical and moral assessment on frequent occasions and that its decisions are judged as having been reprehensible. During World War II, Swiss banks loaned money to a wide variety of German enterprises which were involved in armaments as well as activities linked to activities involved in

6630-426: The head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports is often called "the Swiss defence minister", even though no such post officially exists. However, as council members, they are not only responsible for their own department, but also for the business of their colleagues' departments, as well as for the conduct of the government and the federal administration as a whole. Decisions to be taken by

6732-499: The head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs . Visiting heads of state are received by the Federal Council in corpore . The Federal Council operates mainly through weekly meetings, which are held each Wednesday at the Federal Palace in Bern , the seat of the Swiss federal government . Apart from the seven Councillors, the following officials also attend the meetings: During

6834-404: The legal, political and ethical implications of doing so, or ignored any misgivings they might have had for the sake of commercial interests." After 1938, it became impossible for Swiss companies operating in Nazi controlled areas to avoid applying aryanization policy if they were to continue to operate. Federal Council (Switzerland) The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of

6936-716: The long tradition of the rule of collective bodies in Switzerland. Under the Ancien Régime , the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy had been governed by councils of pre-eminent citizens since time immemorial, and the later Helvetic Republic (with its equivalent Directorate) as well as the cantons that had given themselves liberal constitutions since the 1830s had also had good experiences with that mode of governance. Today, only three other states, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Andorra and San Marino , have collective rather than unitary heads of state. However

7038-402: The meetings, the Councillors address each other formally (e.g. Mrs. Sommaruga, Mr. Berset), even though they are on first name terms with each other. This is done to separate the items on the agenda from the person promoting them. After the meetings, the Councillors take lunch together. The council also meets regularly in conclave to discuss important topics at length; it annually conducts what

7140-477: The need to maintain Switzerland's neutral status. The report points out that the legal arguments were particularly tenuous (and were pointed out to SNB officials at the time): the right to seizure as outlined in the Hague conventions pertains only to state property and not to the gold owned privately nor by the central banks concerned which were then private institutions. However, Swiss purchase continued right up until

7242-470: The older parties in popularity during the 1990s. The governmental balance was changed after the 2003 elections, when the SVP/UDC was granted a council seat for their leader Christoph Blocher that had formerly belonged to the CVP/PDC's Ruth Metzler . Due to controversies surrounding his conduct in office, a narrow Assembly majority did not reelect Blocher in 2007 and chose instead Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf ,

7344-519: The opening of Switzerland due to the Kennedy assassination, foreign travels of Federal Councillors were only normalized after the dissolution of the USSR . The most recent federal council elections were held on 13 December 2023. Federal Council Alain Berset and Federal Chancellor Walter Turnherr had both announced that they would not be seeking reelection. The other Federal Councillors were all reelected,

7446-421: The other six Councillors. The president is not the Swiss head of state; this function is carried out by the council in corpore , that is, in its entirety. However, in recent practice the president acts and is recognised as head of state while conducting official visits abroad, as the Council (also by convention) does not leave the country in corpore . More often, though, official visits abroad are carried out by

7548-439: The pension they receive as an ex-federal councillor, may not exceed the salary of a federal councillor in office, otherwise their pension is reduced accordingly." Serving federal councillors "enjoy a certain number of special benefits, from free telephone contracts to a chauffeur-driven car for official business, a courtesy car for personal use or the use of federal planes and helicopters for official business trips. Each member of

7650-535: The period from 1 January 1942, after the borders were closed, to 31 December 1942, 3,507 refugees were turned back. In August 2001 when the commission issued a final conclusion, with respect to refugee policy, stating that, "measured against its previous stand in terms of humanitarian aid and asylum where its refugee policy was concerned, neutral Switzerland not only failed to live up to its own standards, but also violated fundamental humanitarian principles." The commission defined its focus: "The question which arises

7752-450: The persecuting government. However, in July 1936, Switzerland ratified a provisional arrangement concerning the status of refugees coming from Germany: "Switzerland violated this agreement by handing refugees from Germany, whose lives were at risk and who had crossed the border (legally or illegally) and were not apprehended immediately in the border's vicinity, over to the German authorities on

7854-418: The political parties and receive a substantial number of votes. The voting is conducted in several rounds, under a form of exhaustive ballot . After the election is concluded, the winner holds a short speech and accepts or refuses the office of Federal Councillor. The oath of office is then taken, even then the regular term of office only begins a few weeks later, on 1 January. Usually, the party which has

7956-488: The population with food and purchasing power." To achieve this goal, the Federal government set up structure in order to control foreign trade. This was done in part through continual negotiations with the warring parties, particularly with Nazi Germany. On the whole, this policy was successful: "Switzerland's efforts to achieve close economic co-operation with Germany brought it dual advantages. Swiss businesses emerged from

8058-415: The possibility of recall or a vote of no confidence . Incumbents are not term-limited and are by convention almost always re-elected; most serve around 8 to 12 years in office. As of 2024, the members of the Federal Council are, in order of seniority: The Federal Council was instituted by the 1848 Federal Constitution as the "supreme executive and directorial authority of the Confederation". When

8160-437: The protectionist 1930's. This worsened when war broke out in 1939. "Maintaining trade and business traffic was an 'essential precondition for conducting the wartime economy...'" Swiss exports were a necessary condition for obtaining imports of necessary food and raw materials required for the population. Maintaining trade with the warring powers was thus required to meet "the domestic political objectives, in particular to supply

8262-424: The records remain sealed for 50 years. This has lately been the subject of some criticism. In particular, the parties at the ends of the political spectrum argue that this secrecy is contrary to the principle of transparency . However, the council has always maintained that secrecy is necessary to arrive at consensus and to preserve the collegiality and political independence of the individual Councillors. Due to

8364-643: The responsibility of government continued during the first half of the 20th century. It was hastened by the FDP's and CVP's gradually diminishing voter shares, complemented by the rise of new parties of lesser power at the ends of the political spectrum . These were the Social Democratic Party (SP) on the Left and the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents (BGB; presently the People's Party , SVP) on

8466-436: The role played by Switzerland in the years leading up to 1933, when – together with other European countries – it accommodated the covert rearmament of Germany. Without this opportunity, Germany would not have been able to start a pan-European war in so short a time. During the Second World War, Switzerland was the hub of European gold trade. 77% of the German gold shipments abroad were arranged through it. Between 1940 and 1945,

8568-452: The rule of law." The commission outlines a number of instances where established law as interpreted by the courts was ignored by the Federal government ruling by decree under the emergency powers granted to it by Federal parliament in 1939. One of the most important aspects was the abandonment of constitutional principal of equality before the law which had far reaching impact on the treatment of foreigners, minority citizens and contributed to

8670-449: The rules of collegiality , they will often have to publicly promote a council decision which does not match the political conviction of their party (or of themselves). 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; it has historically been extremely rare for Parliament not to reelect

8772-401: The seat previously held by Schmid, who had resigned. The SVP/UDC regained its second seat on the Council in 2015 , when Widmer-Schlumpf decided to resign after the SVP/UDC's large election gains in the 2015 election , being replaced by Guy Parmelin . Women gained suffrage on the federal level in 1971. They remained unrepresented in the Federal Council for three further legislatures, until

8874-735: The seats on the Federal Council. This made their former war opponents, the Catholic-Conservatives (presently the Christian Democratic People's Party , CVP), the opposition party . Only after Emil Welti 's resignation in 1891 after a failed referendum on railway nationalisation did the Radicals decide to co-opt the Conservatives by supporting the election of Josef Zemp . The process of involving all major political movements of Switzerland into

8976-477: The senior career officials of their department – the heads of the Federal Offices – to prepare a written response to offer criticism and suggestions. This is called the co-report procedure ( Mitberichtsverfahren / procédure de co-rapport ), designed to build a wide consensus ahead of a council meeting. To prepare for important decisions, an additional public consultation is sometimes conducted, to which

9078-429: The seven federal executive departments. The President of the Swiss Confederation chairs the council, but exercises no particular authority; rather, the position is one of a first among equals and rotates among the seven Councillors annually. The Federal Council is elected as a body by the 246 members of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland for a term of four years after each federal parliamentary election , without

9180-489: The so-called degenerate art , and the art that came from the plundering of public and private collections in the occupied territories. The commission concluded that "Swiss involvement in the Nazi regime's looting and cultural policy was considerable and diverse; as a result, Hitler's and Goering's collections were boosted by the acquisition of major works by the Old Masters and the school of German Romanticism". However,

9282-512: The trade was legitimate, at least in the sense that the owners of a piece of art were selling in order to raise money often so they could flee Nazi territories. Thus much of the trade took place through the Swiss hub. The commission distinguishes two types of questionable trade: 1) trade in "flight assets" and 2) trade in "looted assets". Under definition of the commission, "Flight assets were those which were brought into or through Switzerland, often by their (Jewish) owners themselves." Their sale

9384-430: The war years both technologically and financially stronger. The state was able to realise the central objectives of its defence and economic policies." Switzerland intended to continue economic relations with all countries, but because of the war, there was a large shift to relations with the Axis powers resulting in large increases in exports to the Axis powers and large reductions in trade with England and France (and to

9486-513: The «J»-stamp in Jewish passports on 29 September 1938 and which decided on the subsequent introduction of compulsory visas for German «non-Aryans» on 4 October 1938." The change in description came as a consequence of a March 2001 retraction regarding the responsibility for the J Stamp and police chief Heinrich Rothmund's role by the Beobachter , the Swiss magazine that had originally revealed

9588-496: Was directly linked to the persecution of their owners who needed to raise money for their flight or as a way to keep assets out of the hands of the Nazis or even the result of forced sales. Looted assets were those that were confiscated by the Germans either from private individuals or from museums in Germany or occupied territories. A distinction is made between those looted assets that were confiscated "legally" from German museums,

9690-454: Was elected as the fourth woman in government in place of Moritz Leuenberger , putting men in minority for the first time in history. Also remarkable is the fact that the eighth non-voting member of government, the chancellor, who sets the government agenda, was also a woman. In total, there have been ten female councillors in the period 1989 to present: Until 1999, the Constitution mandated that no canton could have multiple representatives on

9792-472: Was nearly exclusively represented by diplomats. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy , the Federal Councillors convened an urgent meeting, where they discussed sending a Councillor to Kennedy's funeral. Given that the absence of the Swiss government would not be understood by the population, they decided to send Friedrich Traugott Wahlen . On his travel to the U.S. capital, Wahlen also met with Secretary of State Dean Rusk to discuss tariffs . Despite

9894-660: Was one of the few successes of the Europe-wide democratic revolutions of 1848 . In Switzerland, the democratic movement was led – and the new federal state decisively shaped – by the Radicals (presently FDP. The Liberals ). After winning the Sonderbund War (the Swiss civil war) against the Catholic cantons, the Radicals at first used their majority in the Federal Assembly to fill all

9996-478: Was one of the motivators for abolishing the rule. At the 1999 Swiss referendums , the Constitution was changed to require an equitable distribution of seats among the cantons and language groups of the country, without setting concrete quotas. Since the rule against Federal Councillors being from the same canton was abolished, there have been a few examples of it happening. The first time was from 2003 to 2007, when both Moritz Leuenberger and Christoph Blocher from

10098-489: Was raised too late to be included in the Washington negotiations. The commission concluded: ...starting from 1942 in particular, it made a number of key decisions relating to the German gold transactions which had little to do with the technical aspects of currency management. Its analysis of the legal position after 1943 was fundamentally flawed. It was an affront to the Allies, who had repeatedly warned Switzerland about

10200-415: Was right and proper under Swiss law was not extended to practices which were incompatible with more universal, non-codified principles such as the principle of humanity. The initial reaction to Nazi policy of discriminating against Jews was mixed with some of the companies complying readily and even anticipating laws to come, while others held out and resisted discriminating as long as they could. However,

10302-420: Was succeeded by Guy Parmelin , a French-speaker. Most recently, in 2023, German-speaking Simmonetta Sommaruga was replaced by French-speaking Elisabeth Baume-Schneider . Historically, at least two council seats have been held by French- or Italian-speakers. The language makeup of the council as of 2022 is four German-speakers, two French-speakers and one Italian-speaker. In November 2017, Ignazio Cassis became

10404-405: Was then sold to the Swiss for Swiss francs which were used for making strategic purchases for the German war effort. Already during the war, the Allies condemned the gold transactions, and at its end, they demanded the "full restitution of the looted gold." Swiss justification for their role ranged from lack of knowledge of where the gold originated to the right of seizure by an invading power to

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