Council of States (Switzerland)

Composition and representation

The Council of States comprises 46 members. Most cantons elect two representatives each, while the six historically designated half-cantons elect one each, producing the chamber's total of 46 seats. This arrangement gives the cantons collective parity and ensures that less populous regions retain a strong voice at the federal level.

Elections, term and political character

Members are chosen according to cantonal law; most cantons use majoritarian (first- or two-round) systems, while a minority employ proportional methods. Deputies typically serve four-year terms concurrently with National Council terms. The chamber tends to be smaller, more deliberative and often composed of experienced politicians, with a profile that can differ from the National Council in party balance and voting behavior upper house.

Functions and procedure

Legislative power is shared between the Council of States and the National Council: for a federal law to pass it must be approved in identical form by both chambers. The Council of States participates in:

• Drafting, debating and voting on federal legislation and budgets;
• Ratifying international treaties and authorizing military deployments;
• Electing or confirming certain federal authorities together with the National Council;
• Supervising the Federal Council and administration through questions, motions and commissions.

Organisation and conventions

The Council operates through standing committees and plenary sessions. Its presidency rotates, typically on a yearly basis, and members often maintain close links to cantonal politics. When the two chambers disagree on a text they enter a negotiation process to produce a compromise; only rarely does one chamber yield outright to the other National Council.

History and notable facts

Created under the 1848 federal constitution that founded modern Switzerland, the Council of States was designed to preserve cantonal influence in national law-making and to balance the population-proportional National Council. Its emphasis on cantonal equality and consensus-oriented practice reflects Switzerland's federal tradition and multilingual society federalism.