This is a list of members of the Swiss Council of States of the 49th legislature (2011-2015). Most members were elected in the 2011 election.
Switzerland is a semi-direct democratic federal republic. Since 2011 the leading parties are from the right wing. The federal legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly, the National Council and the Council of States. The Federal Council holds the executive power and is composed of seven power-sharing Federal Councillors elected by the Federal Assembly. The judicial branch is headed by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, whose judges are elected by the Federal Assembly.
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislative representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies. The theory and practice of direct democracy and participation as its common characteristic was the core of work of many theorists, philosophers, politicians, and social critics, among whom the most important are Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and G.D.H. Cole.
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council that constitutes the executive branch of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. It meets in the west wing of the Federal Palace in Bern.
The National Council is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the National Council is the larger of the two houses.
The Council of States is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, with the National Council being the lower house. It comprises 46 members.
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fourth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.
The Swiss People's Party, also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre, is a national-conservative, right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marco Chiesa, it is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 53 members of the National Council and 6 of the Council of States.
Elections in Switzerland gives information on election and election results in Switzerland.
The Federal Assembly, also known as the Swiss parliament, is Switzerland's federal legislature. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace.
Alain Berset is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2012. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he has headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs since he took office. Berset has served as Vice President of Switzerland since 1 January 2022 under President Ignazio Cassis.
Dick Marty is a Swiss politician and former state prosecutor of the canton of Ticino. He is a former member of the Swiss Council of States and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007. For the 48th legislative term of the federal parliament (2007–2011), voters in 26 cantons elected all 200 members of the National Council as well as 43 out of 46 members of the Council of States. The other three members of the Council of States for that term of service were elected at an earlier date.
The Green Liberal Party of Switzerland, abbreviated to glp, is a centrist green-liberal political party in Switzerland. Founded in 2007, the party holds sixteen seats in the Federal Assembly as of the October 2019 election.
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2009. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019. Formerly head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (2009–2015), Maurer has headed the Federal Department of Finance since 2016. He has been the longest-serving current member of the Federal Council since Doris Leuthard's resignation in 2018.
Karin Keller-Sutter is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2019. A member of FDP.The Liberals, she is the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Keller-Sutter previously served as President of the Council of States for the 2017–2018 term.
