President of the Swiss Confederation - wikipedia President of the Swiss Confederation President of the Confederation Bundespräsident ( in ) ( German ) Président ( e ) de la Confédération ( French ) Presidente della Confederazione ( Italian ) President ( a ) da la Confederaziun ( Romansh ) Incumbent Alain Berset since 1 January 2018 Residence Federal Palace Term length 1 year, not eligible for re-election immediately Inaugural holder Jonas Furrer Formation 21 November 1848 Deputy Vice-President of the ( Swiss ) Confederation Website www.admin.ch Switzerland This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Switzerland Constitution Human rights Federal Council Members ( by seniority ) Doris Leuthard Ueli Maurer Simonetta Sommaruga Johann Schneider - Ammann Alain Berset ( President ) Guy Parmelin Ignazio Cassis Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr Federal administration Federal Assembly Council of States ( members ) National Council ( members ) Political parties Elections Voting Recent elections Federal : 2007 2011 2015 Referendums Mandatory Optional Popular initiative Federal courts Federal Supreme Court Federal Criminal Court Federal Administrative Court Federal Patent Court Foreign relations European Union Administrative divisions Cantons Municipalities Other countries Atlas The President of the ( Swiss ) Confederation ( German : Bundespräsident ( in ), French : Président ( e ) de la Confédération, Italian : Presidente della Confederazione, Romansh : President ( a ) da la Confederaziun ) is the presiding member of the seven - member Swiss Federal Council, Switzerland 's executive. Elected by the Federal Assembly for one year, the President of the Confederation chairs the meetings of the Federal Council and undertakes special representational duties. Primus inter pares, the president has no powers over and above the other six councillors and continues to head her / his department. Traditionally the duty rotates among the members in order of seniority and the previous year 's vice-president becomes president. As first among equals, the Federal Council member serving as President of the Confederation is not the Swiss head of state. However, the entire Federal Council is the collective head of state. The constitutional provisions relating to the organization of the Federal Government and Federal Administration are set out in Section 1 Organisation and Procedure of Chapter 3 Federal Council and Federal Administration of the Title 3 Confederation, Cantons and Communes of the Swiss Federal Constitution at articles 174 to 179. Article 176 specifically relates to the Presidency. Contents 1 Competencies 2 Election 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Competencies The Swiss president is not -- as are, for example, the Presidents in Austria or Germany -- the head of state of the country : under the Swiss Federal Constitution, the Federal Council doubles as a collective head of state and head of government. When a tied vote occurs in the council ( which sometimes happens, because the six Federal Councillors who are not president vote first ), the president -- as the chair of the council -- casts the deciding vote ( or may abstain ). In addition to the control of his or her own department, the president carries out some of the representative duties that are normally carried out by a single head of state in other democracies. For example, since joining the United Nations, Swiss presidents have on occasion spoken at inaugural sessions of the General Assembly along with other visiting heads of state and government. However, because the Swiss have no single head of state, the country carries out no state visits. When traveling abroad, the president does so only in their capacity as head of their department. Visiting heads of state are received by the seven members of the Federal Council together, rather than by the President of the Confederation. Treaties are signed on behalf of the full Council, with all Federal Council members signing letters of credence and other documents of the kind. Election The president is elected by the Federal Assembly from the Federal Council for a term of one year. In the nineteenth century, the election as federal president was an award for especially esteemed Federal Council members. However, a few influential members of the government were regularly passed over. One such example was Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, who -- although a member of the Federal Council for 27 years -- was federal president only once, in 1853. Since the twentieth century, the election has usually not been disputed. There is an unwritten rule that the member of the Federal Council who has not been federal president the longest becomes President. Therefore, every Federal Council member gets a turn at least once every seven years. The only question in the elections that provides some tension is the question of how many votes the person who is to be elected president receives. This is seen as a popularity test. In the 1970s and 1980s, 200 votes ( of 246 possible ) was seen as an excellent result, but in the current era of growing party - political conflicts, 180 votes are a respectable outcome. Until 1920, it was customary for the serving federal president to also lead the Department of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, every year there was a moving around of posts, as the retiring president returned to his former department and the new president took up the Foreign Affairs portfolio. Likewise, it was traditional for the federal president not to leave Switzerland during their year in office. See also List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation References Jump up ^ `` President of the Swiss Confederation ; President of the Confederation ''. Berne, Switzerland : Federal Chancellery. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 23. ^ Jump up to : `` SR 101 Federal constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 ( Status as of 12 February 2017 ), unauthorized English version '' ( in German, French, Italian, and English ). Berne, Switzerland : The federal Council. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 2018 - 03 - 23. ^ Jump up to : Stojanović, Nenad ( 1 March 2016 ). `` Party, Regional and Linguistic Proportionality Under Majoritarian Rules : Swiss Federal Council Elections ''. Swiss Political Science Review. 22 ( 1 ) : 41 -- 58. doi : 10.1111 / spsr. 12208. ISSN 1662 - 6370. Jump up ^ Hug, Simon ; Wegmann, Simone ( 1 June 2013 ). `` Ten Years in the United Nations : Where Does Switzerland Stand ? ''. Swiss Political Science Review. 19 ( 2 ) : 212 -- 232. doi : 10.1111 / spsr. 12034. ISSN 1662 - 6370. Jump up ^ `` UN News - Swiss President, at General Assembly, Highlights Crucial Role of UN in Solving Crises '' ( Press release ). UN News Service Section. 20 September 2016. Jump up ^ Emerson, Peter ( 2012 ). Defining Democracy : Voting Procedures in Decision - Making, Elections and Governance ( 2nd ed. ). Berlin : Springer - Verlag. pp. 125 -- 126. ISBN 978 - 3 - 642 - 20904 - 8. External links Official website Leonhard Neidhart : President of the Confederation in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2010 - 08 - 02. President of the Swiss Confederation ( list ) 1848 -- 1874 Furrer Druey Munzinger Furrer Naeff Frey - Herosé Furrer Stämpfli Fornerod Furrer Stämpfli Frey - Herosé Knüsel Stämpfli Fornerod Dubs Schenk Knüsel Fornerod Dubs Welti Dubs Schenk Welti Cérésole Schenk 1875 -- 1899 Scherer Welti Heer Schenk Hammer Welti Droz Bavier Ruchonnet Welti Schenk Deucher Droz Hertenstein Hammer Ruchonnet Welti Hauser Schenk Frey Zemp Lachenal Deucher Ruffy Müller 1900 -- 1924 Hauser Brenner Zemp Deucher Comtesse Ruchet Forrer Müller Brenner Deucher Comtesse Ruchet Forrer Müller Hoffmann Motta Decoppet Schulthess Calonder Ador Motta Schulthess Haab Scheurer Chuard 1925 -- 1949 Musy Häberlin Motta Schulthess Haab Musy Häberlin Motta Schulthess Pilet - Golaz Minger Meyer Motta Baumann Etter Pilet - Golaz Wetter Etter E. Celio Stampfli von Steiger Kobelt Etter E. Celio Nobs 1950 -- 1974 Petitpierre Steiger Kobelt Etter Rubattel Petitpierre Feldmann Streuli Holenstein Chaudet Petitpierre Wahlen Chaudet Spühler von Moos Tschudi Schaffner Bonvin Spühler von Moos Tschudi Gnägi N. Celio Bonvin Brugger 1975 -- 1999 Graber Gnägi Furgler Ritschard Hürlimann Chevallaz Furgler Honegger Aubert Schlumpf Furgler Egli Aubert Stich Delamuraz Koller Cotti Felber Ogi Stich Villiger Delamuraz Koller Cotti Dreifuss 2000 -- present Ogi Leuenberger Villiger Couchepin Deiss Schmid Leuenberger Calmy - Rey Couchepin Merz Leuthard Calmy - Rey Widmer - Schlumpf Maurer Burkhalter Sommaruga Schneider - Ammann Leuthard Berset Switzerland portal Politics portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=President_of_the_Swiss_Confederation&oldid=835631809 '' Categories : Government of Switzerland Vice presidents 1848 establishments in Switzerland Hidden categories : CS1 German - language sources ( de ) CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) CS1 Italian - language sources ( it ) Use dmy dates from January 2012 Use British English from July 2017 Articles containing German - language text Articles containing French - language text Articles containing Italian - language text Articles containing Romansh - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Alemannisch Български Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Latviešu Lietuvių მარგალური Bahasa Melayu 日本 語 Português Rumantsch Русский Simple English Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 20 more Edit links This page was last edited on 9 April 2018, at 21 : 08. 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Question: what is the name of the current president of switzerland
Answer: Alain Berset