The magic seven
Liberal forces decisively beat conservative troops in 1848 ending a civil war. The defeat paved the way for the foundation of modern-day Switzerland.
The first cabinet was made up of seven members of the Liberal Party (renamed Radical Party). But even then the one-party body included members of the country's language minorities.
The Catholic Conservative Joseph Zemp became the first non-Radical cabinet member in 1892. The rise of Socialism led to a rapprochement between the two groups.
The First World War and a subsequent general strike in Switzerland triggered political reforms. Parliament was elected according to proportional representation and meant the end of Liberal Party dominance.
Rudolf Minger from Bern was the first cabinet minister of the Farmers' Party (renamed Swiss People's Party) in 1930. By then the Catholic Conservatives (renamed Christian Democrats) had two seats.
The rise of Nazi Germany raised concern in many European countries, which put troops at their borders. The left and centre-right parties in Switzerland moved closer.
Ernst Nobs was the first Social Democrat to join the cabinet in 1943 as Switzerland was surrounded by countries at war.
1959 marked the birth of a Magic Formula - a power-sharing arrangement between the four main parties in cabinet: Two seats each for the centre-left Social Democrats, the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-right Radicals and one seat for the Swiss People's Party.
Women in Switzerland only won the right to vote and be elected in 1971, but the cabinet remained completely in the hands of men for more than ten years.
The first woman in the Swiss cabinet was Elisabeth Kopp. The member of the Radical Party from Zurich was elected in 1984.
Ruth Dreifuss, a Social Democrat from Geneva, was the first Jewish member of the Swiss cabinet.
The rightwing Swiss People's Party won its second seat in the cabinet at the expense of the Christian Democrats. The mastemind behind the rise of the People's Party was Christoph Blocher, who became justice minister in 2003 but was unseated four years later.
The cabinet has a female majority after the cabinet elections on September 22. The official 2010 cabinet picture was the last of a cabinet with a male majority.
A short history of the Swiss cabinet since 1848.
The Swiss government today reflects not only the political forces but also the different regions and mentalities. But it started off as a one-party cabinet in 1848. (Pictures: Keystone and RDB)
Links
The citizens' meeting
The citizens' meeting
