Switzerland Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Swiss Confederation

Type: federal republic

Capital: Bern

Political subdivisions: 23 cantons (3 divided into half cantons)

Legal system: civil law system Influenced by customary law; constitution adopted 1874, amended since; judicial review of legislative acts, except with respect to federal decrees of general obligatory character; legal education at Universities of Bern, Geneva, and Lausanne and four other university schools of law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: National Day, 1 August

Branches: bicameral parliament (National Council, Council of States) has legislative authority; federal council (Bundesrat) has executive authority; justice left chiefly to cantons

Government leader: Alfons EGLI, President (1986; presidency rotates annually)

Suffrage: universal over age 20

Elections: held every four years; next elections scheduled for 1987

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (SPS), Helmuth Huhacher, chairman; Radical Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno Hunziker, president; Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP), Flavio Cotti, president; Swiss People’s Party (SVP), Adolf Ogi, president; Workers’ Party (PdA), Armand Magnin, secretary general, National Action Party (NA), RodJf Keller, president; Independents’ Party (LdU), Walter Riel, president; Republican Movement

(Rep); Liberal Party (LPS), Gilbert Coutau, president; Evangelical People’s Party (EVP), Paul Gysel, president; Progressive Organizations of Switzerland \POCH); Green Party (GP); Autonomous Socialist Party jPSA), Werner Carobbio, secretary; Progressive Swiss Organization (POS), Georg Degen, secretary

Voting strength: (1983 election) 23.4% FDP, 22.8% SPS, 20.5% CVP, 11.1% SVP, 3.5% NA, 2.9% GP, 16.1% others

Communists: about 5 000 members

Member of: ADB, Council of Europe, DAC, EFT A, ELDO (observer), ESRO, FAO, GATT, IAEA, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDB— Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, ILO, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, OECD, UNESCO, UPU, World Confederation of Labor, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO; permanent observer status at the UN

NOTE: The information regarding Switzerland on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Switzerland 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Switzerland 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.