Guy Parmelin


Guy Parmelin is a Swiss politician serving as Vice President of Switzerland since 2020. A member of the Swiss People's Party, he has been a Member of the Federal Council since 2016. Parmelin has served as head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research since 2019, previously heading the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports.

Biography

Early political career

A master wine grower by trade, he was elected to the Grand Council of Vaud from 1994 until 2003, when he was elected to the National Council. From 2000 to 2004, Parmelin was also president of the Swiss People's Party of the canton of Vaud. On 9 December 2015, he was elected by the Federal Assembly to the Federal Council in replacement of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

Member of the Federal Council

After the Swiss People's Party won a record vote of over 29% in the 2015 general election, Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf announced she would not run for reelection. She had been expelled from the SVP shortly after her election, and she then founded the Conservative Democratic Party.
The SVP was expected to take Widmer-Schlumpf's seat; it put forward three candidates, including Parmelin, who was ultimately elected. Parmelin became the first SVP member of the Federal Council from the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Parmelin was selected to become head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, replacing fellow SVP-member Ueli Maurer, who became head of the Federal Department of Finance. Starting in 2019, Parmelin became the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.