Who is Beat Jans, Switzerland’s new Federal Council minister?
Swiss parliament has elected a socialist from Basel, Beat Jans, to replace the outgoing head of the Department of the Interior Affairs Alain Berset.
In Wednesday’s election. Jans, 59, got more votes than Jon Pult, who was also vying for a seat on the Federal Council.
“The role of federal councilor is a challenge, but I like challenges,” Jans declared.
A former national MP, Jans has most recently chaired the Basel-City government, so he brings both parliamentary and government experience to the Federal Council.
Der neu gewählte Bundesrat - Le nouvel élu au Conseil fédéral - Il neoeletto Consigliere federale: Beat Jans. (BK) #brwahl23 #brw23 #ElectionCF #ElezioniCF pic.twitter.com/FGeSPK3fPo
— André Simonazzi (@BR_Sprecher) December 13, 2023
What else do we know about him?
A Basel native, Jans completed an apprenticeship as a farmer. He then obtained a diploma in agricultural engineering, followed by a diploma in environmental sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich
He joined the Social Democratic Party in 1998, chairing the Basel-City section from 2000 to 2005. Under his presidency, the socialists obtained a third seat in the government; subsequently, the left, together with the Green Alliance, became a majority in the government.
What will Jans’ role be?
It is not yet clear whether he will take over Berset’s department of the interior (which also includes the health ministry), or whether the departments will be reshuffled as they were in 2022, when two new federal councillors were elected.
An interesting tidbit about Jans is that his wife, Tracy, is American.
She told the Basel media that “I had to explain to my family in the USA that I would not be Switzerland's First Lady.”
Who elected Jans?
Unlike in other countries, the government, or Federal Council to be more precise, is not elected directly by the people. Swiss voters elect members of the parliament — the Federal Assembly — who are then responsible for electing the Federal Council from among the candidates who are running for the seven seats.
The MPs from both chambers of the Federal Assembly — the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States — elect the cabinet jointly. Votes are cast by secret ballot in several rounds, until someone receives the absolute majority of votes.
What will change with Jans’ election?
With Berset, a native of canton Fribourg, gone from December 31st, and Jans taking on his new role on January 1st, the Federal Council will be less francophone more heavily Swiss-German.
Currently, Economy Minister Guy Parmelin and the Justice and Police Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, both from the French-speaking cantons, as well as Ignazio Cassis, from Italian-language Ticino, are the only non-native German speakers on the Federal Council.
What exactly does the Federal Council do?
It has multiple tasks.
According to the Council’s website, “the most important task of the Federal Council is to govern. It continually assesses the current situation, determines the objectives of state governance and the means of achieving them, oversees their implementation and represents the Swiss Confederation both at home and abroad. The Federal Council deals with about 2,500 items of business a year. These mainly involve items of information and draft legislation presented to parliament”.
Each councilor also heads a federal department.
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In Wednesday’s election. Jans, 59, got more votes than Jon Pult, who was also vying for a seat on the Federal Council.
“The role of federal councilor is a challenge, but I like challenges,” Jans declared.
A former national MP, Jans has most recently chaired the Basel-City government, so he brings both parliamentary and government experience to the Federal Council.
Der neu gewählte Bundesrat - Le nouvel élu au Conseil fédéral - Il neoeletto Consigliere federale: Beat Jans. (BK) #brwahl23 #brw23 #ElectionCF #ElezioniCF pic.twitter.com/FGeSPK3fPo
— André Simonazzi (@BR_Sprecher) December 13, 2023
What else do we know about him?
A Basel native, Jans completed an apprenticeship as a farmer. He then obtained a diploma in agricultural engineering, followed by a diploma in environmental sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich
He joined the Social Democratic Party in 1998, chairing the Basel-City section from 2000 to 2005. Under his presidency, the socialists obtained a third seat in the government; subsequently, the left, together with the Green Alliance, became a majority in the government.
What will Jans’ role be?
It is not yet clear whether he will take over Berset’s department of the interior (which also includes the health ministry), or whether the departments will be reshuffled as they were in 2022, when two new federal councillors were elected.
An interesting tidbit about Jans is that his wife, Tracy, is American.
She told the Basel media that “I had to explain to my family in the USA that I would not be Switzerland's First Lady.”
Who elected Jans?
Unlike in other countries, the government, or Federal Council to be more precise, is not elected directly by the people. Swiss voters elect members of the parliament — the Federal Assembly — who are then responsible for electing the Federal Council from among the candidates who are running for the seven seats.
The MPs from both chambers of the Federal Assembly — the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States — elect the cabinet jointly. Votes are cast by secret ballot in several rounds, until someone receives the absolute majority of votes.
What will change with Jans’ election?
With Berset, a native of canton Fribourg, gone from December 31st, and Jans taking on his new role on January 1st, the Federal Council will be less francophone more heavily Swiss-German.
Currently, Economy Minister Guy Parmelin and the Justice and Police Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, both from the French-speaking cantons, as well as Ignazio Cassis, from Italian-language Ticino, are the only non-native German speakers on the Federal Council.
What exactly does the Federal Council do?
It has multiple tasks.
According to the Council’s website, “the most important task of the Federal Council is to govern. It continually assesses the current situation, determines the objectives of state governance and the means of achieving them, oversees their implementation and represents the Swiss Confederation both at home and abroad. The Federal Council deals with about 2,500 items of business a year. These mainly involve items of information and draft legislation presented to parliament”.
Each councilor also heads a federal department.
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