Guy Parmelin | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Official portrait, 2026 | |
| President of Switzerland | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2026 | |
| Vice President | Ignazio Cassis |
| Preceded by | Karin Keller-Sutter |
| In office 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021 | |
| Vice President | Ignazio Cassis |
| Preceded by | Simonetta Sommaruga |
| Succeeded by | Ignazio Cassis |
| Vice President of Switzerland | |
| In office 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025 | |
| President | Karin Keller-Sutter |
| Preceded by | Karin Keller-Sutter |
| Succeeded by | Ignazio Cassis |
| In office 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020 | |
| President | Simonetta Sommaruga |
| Preceded by | Simonetta Sommaruga |
| Succeeded by | Ignazio Cassis |
| Member of the Swiss Federal Council | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2016 | |
| Department | Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (2016–2018) Economic Affairs, Education and Research (2018–) |
| Preceded by | Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |
| Member of theSwiss National Council | |
| In office 1 December 2003 – 31 December 2015 | |
| Constituency | Vaud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Guy Bernard Parmelin (1959-11-09)9 November 1959 (age 66) |
| Party | Swiss People's Party |
| Spouse | |
Guy Bernard Parmelin (French pronunciation:[ɡibɛʁnaʁpaʁməlɛ̃]; born 9 November 1959) is a Swiss politician who has been amember of the Federal Council since 2016. A member of theSwiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he is currently thepresident of Switzerland for 2026, having previously served as president in 2021 and asvice president in 2020 and 2025.[1][2] Parmelin has also led theDepartment of Economic Affairs, Education and Research since 2019. He previously led theDepartment of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports between 2016 and 2018.
Parmelin was born 9 November 1959 inBursins, the oldest of three children, to Richard Parmelin, a farmer and winegrower, and Jeannine Parmelin (née Favre; 1939–2020). His siblings are Christophe Parmelin and Valérie Cottet (née Parmelin).
He completed hisMatura in 1977 and then completed a diploma in agriculture at the Cantonal Agricultural College Marcelin inMorges. In 1985, he completed amaster's degree inviticulture.[3]
A masterwine grower by trade, he was elected to theGrand Council of Vaud from 1994 until 2003, when he waselected to theNational Council for thecanton of Vaud.[1] From 2000 to 2004, Parmelin was also president of theSwiss People's Party of the canton of Vaud. On 9 December 2015, he was elected by theFederal Assembly to theFederal Council in replacement ofEveline Widmer-Schlumpf.[4][5]
After theSwiss People's Party won a record vote of over 29% in the2015 general election, Federal CouncillorEveline Widmer-Schlumpf announced she would not run for reelection.[6][7] She had been expelled from the SVP/UDC shortly after her election in 2007, whereupon she founded the splinterConservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD). The SVP/UDC was expected to take Widmer-Schlumpf's seat; it put forward three candidates, including Parmelin, who was ultimatelyelected.[8]
Parmelin became the first SVP/UDC Federal Councillor from theFrench-speaking part of Switzerland.[8][9] He was selected to become head of theFederal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, replacing fellow party memberUeli Maurer, who became head of theFederal Department of Finance.[10] Starting in 2019, Parmelin became the head of theFederal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. He served as Vice President of Switzerland in 2020. He assumed the presidency on 1 January 2021 alongside Vice PresidentIgnazio Cassis.[11][12][13][14]
On 16 June 2021, as President of Switzerland, Parmelin hosted the2021 Russia–United States summit atVilla La Grange in Geneva betweenVladimir Putin andJoe Biden. He wished them "a fruitful dialogue, in the interests of [their] two countries, and the world".[15]
On 10 December 2025, Parmelin was elected Federal President of the United Federal Assembly for the year 2026 with 203 valid votes (of a total of 246).[16][17]
On 9 January 2026, Parmelin addressed the nation in an open letter following the lethal New Year's Evefire at the Le Constellation bar inCrans-Montana, which killed 40 people, many teenagers, and injured over 110, pledging solidarity and demanding investigations into safety breaches.[18]
In 1995, Parmelin married Caroline Merotto, the daughter of Aldo Merotto, an engineer of Italian origin, and Maria Merotto (née Moosrainer). They have no children.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Swiss Federal Council 2016–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Head of theDepartment of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head of theDepartment of Economic Affairs, Education and Research 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Vice President of Switzerland 2020 | Succeeded by |
| President of Switzerland 2021 | ||
| Preceded by | Vice President of Switzerland 2025 | |
| President of Switzerland 2026 | Incumbent | |
| 1848–1874 |  | |
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| 1875–1899 | ||
| 1900–1924 | ||
| 1925–1949 | ||
| 1950–1974 | ||
| 1975–1999 | ||
| 2000–present | ||
| Current members | | |
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