Switzerland’s Interior Minister Alain Berset was elected Wednesday as the country’s new president following a vote in Parliament, and is scheduled to be sworn in in 2023 to replace Ignazio Cassis.
The vote resulted in 140 votes in favor out of a total of 181 deputies, according to reports in the daily ‘Tages-Anzeiger’. It will be the second time he will serve as president of the country, a position he already held between January and December 2018.
Swiss ministers assume the presidency for one year and on a rotating basis. In office, they lead cabinet meetings and perform ceremonial duties. Thus, the country’s president does not act as head of state but, according to the Constitution, this power rests with the Federal Council, which performs the functions of head of state and head of government. In the event of a tie in the Council, it is the president who casts the deciding vote.
