Geneva, June 21, (dpa/GNA) – Swiss Federal President Alain Berset, will step down at the end of the year and will not seek re-election to Switzerland’s Federal Council, Berset said in a surprise announcement on Wednesday.
Berset, a 51-year-old Social Democrat, has been a member of the country’s seven-member Federal Council since 2012. The role of president rotates each year among the seven members, who serve in the post in addition to their ministerial duties.
Berset is Switzerland’s minister of the interior and health.
Berset cited his long tenure as a reason for wanting to leave the government on Wednesday. He had never been in the same job for 12 years, he told the press.
According to Swiss tradition, ministers serve in office independent of the results of parliamentary elections.
Ministers on the Federal Council represent the four largest parties and, as a rule, make their own decision on when to resign from office. A tenure of a decade or longer is common.
GNA