The people
Directly elect the 246 members of the Federal Assembly.
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🇨🇭 Government power map
Who selects whom in Switzerland?
Federal system with a collegial executive
Switzerland
4 institutions · 4 relationshipsHow power connects
Select an institution or a connection to explore.
Follow who selects, appoints or checks whom.
About this system
Switzerland separates federal legislative, executive, and judicial institutions while giving the Federal Assembly unusually direct responsibility for electing the seven-member Federal Council and federal judges.
No invented arrows. A line is published only when an attached constitution or official institution explicitly supports the relationship. An institution source by itself does not justify an inferred line.
4 formal relationships drawn · 3 sources · Verified 2026-08-28
The dots
Institutions represented on this map.
Each institution below has an attached source. Being listed does not imply an unshown formal relationship.
Federal Assembly
The National Council and Council of States exercise federal legislative power.
Federal Council
The seven-member collegial government exercises executive power and implements Parliament's decisions.
Federal courts
The federal judiciary includes the Federal Supreme Court and three other federal courts.
Evidence and limits
Every line has a source. Every missing layer stays visible.
The map describes formal national relationships only. It does not measure democratic quality, legitimacy, actual compliance, or informal influence.
Official or constitutional source
Political system
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
- three levels of government
- direct election of Parliament
- Federal Council composition
The Federal Council
The Federal Council, Swiss Confederation
- executive role
- seven members
- election by Parliament
- four-year term
The Swiss Confederation — a brief guide
Federal Chancellery
- separation of powers
- Parliament elects government
- Parliament appoints federal judges
- Federal Council implements laws