2015 Swiss Federal Council election

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An election for all seven members of the Federal Council, the Government of Switzerland, was held on 9 December 2015, following the federal election on 19 October 2015, for the 2016–2020 term.^[1]

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, a member of the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD), announced she would not run for reelection after the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) won a record 29.4% of the vote, whilst her own party received 4.1% of the vote.^[2][3] The SVP/UDC was widely expected to fill her seat in the election; it chose Thomas Aeschi (Zug), Guy Parmelin (Vaud) and Norman Gobbi (Ticino) as candidates for the seat, with Aeschi being the favourite at the time.^[4][5]

Guy Parmelin, of the SVP/UDC, was ultimately elected by the Federal Assembly on 9 December 2015.^[1] Parmelin, a farmer and winegrower from Bursins in the canton of Vaud, became the first Federal Councillor of the Swiss People's Party from the French-speaking part of Switzerland.^[1][6]

There was a minor cabinet reshuffle after the election, as newly elected Federal Councillor Parmelin was selected to become head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, replacing fellow SVP/UDC member Ueli Maurer, who became head of the Federal Department of Finance.^[7] The SVP/UDC regained its second seat on the Federal Council, which it had lost in 2008, when the newly created BDP/PBD split from the SVP/UDC.