Economy minister Guy Parmelin elected Switzerland’s president for 2026
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Mr Guy Parmelin negotiated lower tariffs for his country after US President Donald Trump shocked Switzerland with a 39 per cent rate in August 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
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- Guy Parmelin was elected Switzerland's president for 2026, receiving 203 of 210 votes in the Federal Assembly.
- Parmelin previously worked to reduce US tariffs on Swiss goods, securing a cut to 15 per cent after vowing a US$200 billion investment.
- As president, Parmelin, who was president in 2021, retains his economy portfolio, addressing concerns about a "turbulent" global context.
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GENEVA - Switzerland’s economy minister Guy Parmelin, who shuttled back and forth to Washington trying to reduce whopping US tariffs, was on Dec 10 elected as the country’s president for 2026.
He was formally elected by lawmakers from both houses of the Federal Assembly parliament with 203 out of 210 valid votes.
“These are difficult times. I am taking office in a turbulent and uncertain context, on a fragile and vulnerable continent. Our times demand determination, foresight, courage, and hope,” he told lawmakers.
US President Donald Trump shocked Switzerland in August
Mr Parmelin went to Washington three times in a bid to get the rate down.
Eventually, in November, Switzerland and the United States announced a declaration of intent to cut the tariffs to 15 per cent, with the wealthy Alpine nation vowing to invest US$200 billion (S$260 billion) in the US.
Switzerland rotates the presidency annually among the Federal Council, the seven-member Cabinet that serves as the country’s government, and collective head of state.
The president of the Swiss Confederation is first among equals, chairs the council and typically represents the country in major matters internally and abroad.
The position goes to whomever has had the longest run on the council without being president.
Mr Parmelin will retain his economy minister brief when he takes over as president from Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter.
“The woman was nice, but she didn’t want to listen,” Mr Trump said of Ms Keller-Sutter’s initial attempts to reduce the US tariff rate.
Mr Parmelin was president once before in 2021 and took centre-stage as Switzerland hosted a summit in Geneva between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president Joe Biden.
A winegrower by trade, Mr Parmelin, 66, is from the French-speaking western canton of Vaud.
He is from the hard-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which is the largest in the National Council, the 200-seat lower house of Parliament.
He joined the Federal Council government in 2016 as defence minister and had held the economy brief since 2019. AFP
