2015 Swiss Federal Council election


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.
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, a member of the Conservative Democratic Party, announced she would not run for reelection after the Swiss People's Party won a record 29.4% of the vote, whilst her own party received 4.1% of the vote. The SVP/UDC was widely expected to fill her seat in the election; it chose Thomas Aeschi, Guy Parmelin and Norman Gobbi as candidates for the seat, with Aeschi being the favourite at the time.
Guy Parmelin, of the SVP/UDC, was ultimately elected by the Federal Assembly on 9 December 2015. 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.
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. 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.

Incumbents

Incumbents, in descending order of seniority, including political party affiliation and department at the time of the election:

Results

Source showing only the final tallies in favour of the winner of each seat:

Seat held by Doris Leuthard

Doris Leuthard was reelected in the first round of voting.
Round 1
Doris Leuthard215
Votes received by other persons19
Votes cast245
Invalid votes3
Blank votes8
Valid votes234
Absolute majority118

Seat held by Ueli Maurer

Ueli Maurer was reelected in the first round of voting.
Round 1
Ueli Maurer173
Thomas Hurter10
Votes received by other persons27
Votes cast245
Invalid votes3
Blank votes32
Valid votes210
Absolute majority106

Seat held by Didier Burkhalter

Didier Burkhalter was reelected in the first round of voting.
Round 1
Didier Burkhalter217
Votes received by other persons14
Votes cast244
Invalid votes0
Blank votes13
Valid votes231
Absolute majority116

Seat held by Simonetta Sommaruga

Simonetta Sommaruga was reelected in the first round of voting.
Round 1
Simonetta Sommaruga182
Daniel Jositsch11
Votes received by other persons28
Votes cast245
Invalid votes5
Blank votes19
Valid votes221
Absolute majority111

Seat held by Johann Schneider-Ammann

Johann Schneider-Ammann was reelected in the first round of voting.
Round 1
Johann Schneider-Ammann191
Votes received by other persons28
Votes cast244
Invalid votes2
Blank votes23
Valid votes219
Absolute majority110

Seat held by Alain Berset

Alain Berset was reelected in the first round of voting.
Round 1
Alain Berset210
Votes received by other persons23
Votes cast243
Invalid votes2
Blank votes8
Valid votes233
Absolute majority117

Vacant seat

Guy Parmelin was elected to the Federal Council after three rounds of voting.
Round 1Round 2Round 3
Guy Parmelin90117138
Thomas Aeschi617888
Norman Gobbi503011
Thomas Hurter22--
Viola Amherd16--
Votes received by other persons414-
Votes cast245244243
Invalid votes000
Blank votes256
Valid votes243239237
Absolute majority122120119