The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Swiss vice-chancellor to step down in March

Federal Council Spokesperson Andrea Arcidiacono leaves the Federal Chancellery
Andrea Arcidiacono, who is spokesperson for the Swiss government, has announced his departure from the Federal Chancellery. Keystone-SDA

Six months into his tenure, vice-chancellor and Swiss government spokesperson Andrea Arcidiacono is set to leave the Federal Chancellery at the end of March.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The government said Arcidiacono’s departure is voluntary and mainly due to personal reasons.

Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi and Vice-Chancellor Andrea Arcidiacono informed the Swiss president and other members of the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, of this decision on Wednesday. “The Federal Council thanks Andrea Arcidiacono for his work so far and for continuing until the end of March 2025,” they wrote.

+ What does the Swiss chancellor actually do?

Arcidiacono assumed his role on October 1, 2024, succeeding Ursula Eggenberger, who had stepped in as interim vice-chancellor and Federal Council spokesperson after the sudden death of André Simonazzi. Eggenberger, the head of communications at the Federal Chancellery, will once again serve as interim Federal Council spokesperson from April 1 until a permanent replacement is appointed.

To find a long-term successor, Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi is forming a search committee. The role of vice-chancellor and Federal Council spokesperson will be advertised publicly in February 2025. Eggenberger is not available to fill the vacancy.

Translated from German with DeepL/sp

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

F/A-18 take-offs and landings at Bern-Belp Airport

More

F/A-18s take off and land at Bern Airport

This content was published on The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday.

Read more: F/A-18s take off and land at Bern Airport
cern

More

Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva

This content was published on Preparations for a huge new particle accelerator in Geneva have reached a milestone. After several years of work, a feasibility study for the project has now been finalised.

Read more: Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva
More Russian assets frozen in Switzerland

More

More Russian assets frozen in Switzerland

This content was published on The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland currently stands at CHF7.4 billion ($8.4 billion), the Swiss government announced on Tuesday.

Read more: More Russian assets frozen in Switzerland
Increase in business start-ups in the 1st quarter

More

Increase in Swiss business start-ups in Q1

This content was published on The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva.

Read more: Increase in Swiss business start-ups in Q1

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR