Swiss President Guy Parmelin has announced he will leave the Federal Council at the end of the year, ending an 11-year ministerial career that saw him navigate trade disputes with Washington and represent the Alpine nation on the global stage.
Speaking to reporters in Bern on Friday, Parmelin said he had informed his six colleagues on the seven-member government of his decision to step down on 31 December. The Swiss presidency rotates annually among the council's members, and Parmelin was its longest-serving minister.
“By then, it will have been 11 years since I was elected to this role, and the time has come for me to make way for new energy in these times of great uncertainty,” he said. He acknowledged feeling “a certain weariness” but insisted his departure was not for medical reasons.
A pragmatic negotiator in a turbulent era
Parmelin, a winegrower from the French-speaking canton of Vaud, belongs to the hard-right Swiss People's Party (SVP), the country's largest political force. He joined the Federal Council in 2016 as defence minister and has held the economy portfolio since 2019.
His tenure as economy minister was marked by a high-stakes tariff tussle with the United States. In August 2025, President Donald Trump imposed a 39% duty on Swiss imports, among the steepest in his global tariff campaign. Parmelin travelled to Washington three times to negotiate a reduction, ultimately securing a declaration of intent to cut tariffs to 15% in exchange for Swiss investment pledges of $200 billion (€178 billion) in the US.
Parmelin previously served as president in 2021, a year when Switzerland hosted a summit in Geneva between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden. That meeting underscored Bern's role as a neutral diplomatic venue, even as European security tensions mounted.
The Swiss presidency is a primus inter pares role: the holder chairs Federal Council meetings and represents the country in major domestic and international matters. The position rotates to the councillor who has gone longest without holding it. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is next in line, set to become president in 2027.
Parmelin's departure will trigger a succession process within the SVP. Candidates have until 23 October to declare their interest, and parliament will elect his replacement on 9 December. The Federal Council's seven seats are distributed among the four main parties under a decades-old power-sharing arrangement known as “the magic formula,” with the SVP holding two seats.
His exit comes at a time of heightened political uncertainty across Europe, from Finland's coalition strains to volatility in French bond markets. Parmelin's successor will inherit a portfolio that includes trade negotiations, economic resilience, and the delicate balance of Swiss neutrality in a polarised world.
Observers note that Parmelin's pragmatic style won him respect even from political opponents. His ability to engage with Trump, a leader often at odds with European governments, was seen as a diplomatic asset. Whether his successor can maintain that effectiveness remains an open question as Switzerland prepares for a new chapter in its executive leadership.
