A session of the Swiss Council of States, with spectators on the gallery.

The Council of States of Switzerland (German: Ständerat, French: Conseil des Etats, Italian: Consiglio degli Stati, Romansh: Cussegl dals Stadis) is the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, and is considered the Assembly's upper house. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Romansh (also spelled Romansch, Rumants(ch or Romanche) is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, The Federal Assembly (in German, Bundesversammlung; in French, Assemblée fédérale; in Italian, Assemblea federale An upper house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Lower house. There are 46 Councillors.

Twenty of the country's cantons send two Councillors each. The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland. The smaller cantons of Obwalden, Nidwalden, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden send one Councillor each. Obwalden (German) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland Nidwalden (German) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland Basel-City (in German:) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland. Basel-Country ( German:; Swiss German: Basel-Land / Baselbiet) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland. Appenzell Ausserrhoden (German; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) is a canton of Switzerland. Appenzell Innerrhoden (German; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner Rhodes) is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest The latter six have traditionally been considered "half-cantons", because of their smaller size in area and in population, but in practice operate as full cantons.

The Councillors serve for four years, and are not bound in their vote to instructions from the Cantonal authorities. Under the Swiss Federal Constitution, the mode of election is left to the cantons, the proviso being that it must be a democratic method; however, all cantons now provide for the councillors to be chosen by popular election. The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 (Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse Constituzione federale della Confederazione In all Cantons except for Zug and Appenzell Innerrhoden, the Councillors are elected concurrently with the members of the National Council. The Canton of Zug ( German Kanton) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland. Appenzell Innerrhoden (German; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner Rhodes) is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest In the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden the representatives are elected by the physically convened popular assembly (Landsgemeinde). Appenzell Innerrhoden (German; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner Rhodes) is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest The Landsgemeinde ( German literally translated "community of the country" is one of the oldest and purest forms of Direct democracy. With the exception of the Canton of Jura, where a proportional representation election system is used, the representatives are elected by majority vote. The Republic and Canton of the Jura (République et Canton du Jura also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland

There are currently (2008) 10 women in the Council of States (22%). 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

Switzerland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Switzerland

Constitution Human rights Constitution Federal Council List of members Moritz Leuenberger Pascal Couchepin (Pres. 08) Samuel Schmid Micheline Calmy-Rey Hans-Rudolf Merz (VP 08) Doris Leuthard Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Federal Chancellor Corina Casanova Federal administration Federal Assembly Council of States List of members National Council List of members Political parties Elections Voting in Switzerland 2003 2007 Federal judiciary Federal Supreme Court Federal Criminal Court Federal Administrative Court Foreign policy Switzerland and the European Union Foreign relations Subdivisions Cantons Municipalities

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List of members

• List of members of the Swiss Council of States
• List of members of the Swiss Council of States (2003-2007)
• List of Presidents of the Swiss Council of States

Seats by party

Population per seat

The Council of States represents the principle of federalism of the Swiss constitutional state: seats are distributed by state (canton), not by population. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Politics of Switzerland takes place in the framework of a multi-party federal parliamentary democratic Republic, whereby the Human rights are comprehensively guaranteed in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 (Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse Constituzione federale della Confederazione The Swiss Federal Council (Schweizerischer Bundesrat Conseil fédéral suisse Consiglio federale svizzero Cussegl federal This is a list of members of the Swiss Federal Council (Schweizerischer Bundesrat Conseil fédéral suisse Consiglio federale svizzero Cussegl federal svizzer Moritz Leuenberger (born 21 September 1946 is a Swiss Politician, Lawyer, member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1995 and President Pascal Couchepin (born April 5, 1942) is a Swiss Politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1998 and President of The President of the Confederation (Bundespräsident Président de la Confédération Presidente della Confederazione President da la Confederaziun is the presiding member Samuel Schmid (born January 8, 1947) has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2000. Micheline Calmy-Rey (born July 8, 1945) is a Swiss politician member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2002 Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942 is a Swiss politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD and Member of the Swiss Federal Council (since 2003 The President of the Confederation (Bundespräsident Président de la Confédération Presidente della Confederazione President da la Confederaziun is the presiding member Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (born 16 March 1956) is a Swiss lawyer politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2008 The Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler(in Chancelier(-ière fédéral(e Cancelliere(-a della Confederazione Chancelier(a federal(a is the head of the Federal Chancellery Corina Casanova (born 4 January 1956) is the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland. The federal administration of Switzerland (Bundesverwaltung Administration fédérale Amministrazione federale is the ensemble of agencies that constitute together with the The Federal Assembly (in German, Bundesversammlung; in French, Assemblée fédérale; in Italian, Assemblea federale This is a list of members of the Swiss Council of States of the 48th legislature (2007-2011 The National Council of Switzerland (Nationalrat Conseil National Consiglio Nazionale Cussegl Naziunal is the larger Chamber of the parliament with 200 seats This is a list of the 200 members of the Swiss National Council for the 2007 - 2011 legislative term current as of 25 November 2007 Political parties in Switzerland lists political parties in Switzerland. Elections in Switzerland gives information on Election and election results in Switzerland. Voting in Switzerland is the process by which Swiss citizens make decisions about Governance and elect Officials Voting takes place over the week-end with Legislative elections in the Swiss Confederation were held on 19 October 2003. Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday October 21, 2007. The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (Bundesgericht Tribunal fédéral Tribunale federale Tribunal federal is the Supreme court of Switzerland. The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland ( FCC; Bundesstrafgericht Tribunal pénal fédéral Tribunale penale federale Tribunal federal penala is the court The Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland ( FAC; Bundesverwaltungsgericht Tribunal administratif fédéral Tribunale amministrativo federale Tribunal Switzerland took part in negotiating the European Economic Area agreement with the European Union. The foreign relations of Switzerland are the primary responsibility of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland. Municipalities (sometimes called communities or communes, after the French/Italian names are the smallest government division in Switzerland and are called Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent This is a list of members of the Swiss Council of States of the 48th legislature (2007-2011 This is a list of Presidents of the Swiss Council of States. See also Members of the Swiss Council of States Presidents Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday October 21, 2007. The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (Also called Christian-Democratic Party Christlich Demokratische Volkspartei (CVP Parti Démocrate-Chrétien Suisse The Free Democratic Party of Switzerland (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz (FDP Parti radical-démocratique suisse (PRD Partito liberale radicale svizzero (PLR Partida The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (also rendered as Socialist Party of Switzerland Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz (SP Parti socialiste suisse (PS Partito Socialista The Swiss People's Party (SVP also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC is a Political party in Switzerland. The Green Party of Switzerland (Grüne Partei der Schweiz Les verts Parti écologiste suisse I Verdi Partito ecologista svizzero La Verda Partida ecologica svizra "The Greens Swiss The Green Liberal Party of Switzerland (Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz GLP Verts Libéraux VL is a Swiss Political party founded on 19 July 2007 Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on September 12 1848 with the creation of a federal constitution which was created in response to a 27-day civil war in Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland. Consequently, the number of people represented by a single seat in the Council of State varies by a factor of 40, from 15,000 for Appenzell Innerrhoden to 600,000 for Zurich. Appenzell Innerrhoden (German; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner Rhodes) is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest The Canton of Zürich (German Kanton) has a population of about 1

Notes: ¹ Population data from Cantons of Switzerland (2001). The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland. ² Relative representation compared to Zürich.

External links

• http://www.parliament.ch/e/homepage.htm