In 1945 Geneva became the European headquarters of the United Nations. In 1946 the League of Nations turned over to the United Nations its palace and other buildings. Geneva is often the scene of world conferences. The chief manufactures are precision machinery and instruments, watches, jewelry, electrical equipment, machine tools, and measuring devices. There are also chemical manufacturing and food processing.
Geneva is known worldwide as a financial center.
Like the rest of Switzerland, Geneva is governed by the Swiss Constitution of 1848, which was revised in 1874. It established a democracy that allowed men to vote. The canton of Geneva extended the vote to women in 1960. Local government is by the Council of State, made up of seven members, and a legislature composed of 100 deputies. Geneva is represented in the federal government by two deputies in the Council of States and by a number of national councillors that varies according to population.