It is you the people who determine the path Switzerland takes within and beyond our borders. It is you who ultimately decide what happens in our State. That is a great responsibility and presupposes that Switzerland’s citizens are well informed. Unrestricted access to information and full transparency regarding official procedures and decisions – that is the basis of our democracy, our free society.

I therefore invite you to make the most of the broad range of information published online by the federal government. www.admin.ch not only reflects the State’s wide-ranging activities, the web pages of the government and the federal administration are also a reflection of our country, our economy and our society. I am sure they will provide the answers to many of your questions. Take an active interest in democracy because democracy has an impact on us all!

So why not take a tour around the site!

Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation

The Swiss government (the executive authority) is made up of the seven members of the Federal Council who are elected by the United Federal Assembly for a four-year term of office.

The Federal Council presents its objectives for 2009.

Since 1968 the Federal Council has presented its political strategy to the newly elected parliament in the Dispatch on Legislature Planning.

Would you like to know who was President of the Swiss Confederation in 1902? Or who headed the Post Department in 1867? A list of all members and their duties since 1848 can be found under "Documentation".

Turn the pages back: you can leaf through the archives and look at the photographs, taken each year since 1993, of the entire Federal Council under "Federal Council photograph".