What kind of government does Switzerland have and what is the name of their national leader?

Answer 1

Switzerland has a very democratic system of government.

Switzerland is a confederation of 26 semi-independent cantons. A canton is equivalent to what is called a state in English-speaking federal countries.

As many decisions as possible are made at the cantonal level. Each canton has its own constitution, parliament, laws and court system. Most of the cantons were once independent countries, and in many ways continue to act as such.

As well as regular elections, Switzerland has a form of "direct democracy" where any decision can be put to a referendum. A petition is started, signatures are collected and if enough signatures are collected there has to be a referendum which is binding. A referendum can be at the federal or cantonal level.

Switzerland has a collective head of state, the seven-member federal council. The president is the chairman of this council.

There is a different president each year, starting on 1st January. The president for 2013 is Ueli Maurer.

Previous presidents were: 2012 - Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, 2011 - Micheline Calmy-Rey, 2010 - Doris Leuthard, 2009 - Hans-Rudolf Merz, 2008 - Pascal Couchepin.