Burkhalter to take over interior ministry
Newly-elected cabinet minister Didier Burkhalter will take over the interior ministry from his predecessor, Pascal Couchepin.
The other six ministers will keep their existing portfolios, the Federal Chancellery said in a statement on Friday.
The announcement ends speculation over whether the 49-year-old centre-right Radical would take the place of Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Switzerland’s parliamentarians voted Burkhalter into the cabinet on Wednesday who will officially take office on November 1.
Burkhalter will be in charge of a cash-strapped social security system and will have to tackle rising healthcare costs.
His ministry also includes culture, research and education.
A switching of portfolios is relatively rare. It last occurred in 2002 after the election of Calmy-Rey, when Couchepin exchanged his economics portfolio for the interior ministry. Calmy-Rey took over the foreign ministry from Joseph Deiss.
swissinfo.ch and agencies
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