| Capitale | nom: Bern coordonnées géographiques: 46 55 N, 7 28 E différence de temps: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: origin of the name is uncertain, but may derive from a 2nd century B.C. Celtic place name, possibly "berna" meaning "cleft," that was subsequently adopted by a Roman settlement |
| Fête de l'Indépendance | 1 Aoüt 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation) |
| Fête nationale | Founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291; note - since 1 Aoüt 1891 celebrated as Swiss National Day |
| Constitution | history: previous 1848, 1874; latest adopted by referendum 18 Avril 1999, effective 1 Janvier 2000 amendments: proposed by the two houses of the Federal Assembly or by petition of at least one hundred thousand voters (called the "federal popular initiative"); passage of proposals requires majority vote in a referendum; following drafting of an amendment by the Assembly, its passage requires approval by majority vote in a referendum and approval by the majority of cantons; amended many times, last in 2016 (2016) |
| Suffrage - Age minimum de l'électeur | 18 ans; universal |
| Pouvoir exécutif | chef d'état (Président): Président of the Swiss Confederation Ueli MAURER (depuis 1 January 2019); Vice Président Simonetta SOMMARUGA (depuis 1 January 2019); note - the Federal Council, which is comprised of 7 federal councillors, constitutes the federal government of Switzerland; council members rotate the 1-year term of federal president (chef d'état (Président) and chef de gouvernement (1er ministre)) chef de gouvernement (1er ministre): Président of the Swiss Confederation Ueli MAURER (depuis 1 January 2019); Vice Président Simonetta SOMMARUGA (depuis 1 January 2019) cabinet: Federal Council or Bundesrat (in German), Conseil Federal (in French), Consiglio Federale (in Italian) indirectly elected by members by the Federal Assembly for a 4-year term elections/appointments: president and vice president elected by the Federal Assembly from among members of the Federal Council for a 1-year, non-consecutive term; election last held on 5 December 2018 (next to be held in December 2019) election results: Ueli MAURER elected president; Federal Assembly vote - 201 of 209; Simonetta SOMMARUGA elected vice president; Federal Assembly vote - 196 of 216 |
Source: CIA World Factbook - Version du décembre 31, 2019
