Order of precedence in Switzerland
Relative preeminence of officials for ceremonial purposes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Swiss order of precedence is a hierarchy of important positions within the government of Switzerland. It has no legal standing but is used by ceremonial protocol. The order of precedence is determined by the Protocol Regulations[1] and the Table of Precedence[2] of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Unless otherwise noted, precedence among persons of equal rank is determined by seniority. As a general rule, spouses share the same rank.
Table of precedence
| Color legend |
|---|
| Governments, Parliaments and Courts of the Confederation, Cantons and Communes |
| Diplomats |
| Armed forces |
| Federal administration |
| Religious and educational authorities |
| Rank | Position | Incumbent (as of 1 January 2026[update]) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | President of the Confederation | Guy Parmelin[3] |
| 2 | Vice President of the Federal Council | Ignazio Cassis[3] |
| 3 | Federal Councillors[note 1] | Karin Keller-Sutter, Albert Rösti, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider, Beat Jans, Martin Pfister[3][4] |
| Commanding General[note 2] | vacant in time of peace | |
| 4 | President of the National Council | Maja Riniker[5] |
| 5 | President of the Council of States | Andrea Caroni[6] |
| 6 | Federal Chancellor | Viktor Rossi[3] |
| 7 | President of the Federal Supreme Court | Martha Niquille[7] |
| 8 | Former Federal Councillors[note 1] | see List of members of the Federal Council |
| 9 | Presidents of the cantonal governments[note 3] | see List of cantonal executives |
|
||
| 10 | Vice Presidents of the National Council | Pierre-André Page (1st),[note 4] Katja Christ (2nd)[note 4][5] |
| 11 | Vice Presidents of the Council of States | Stefan Engler (1st),[note 4] Werner Salzmann (2nd)[note 4][6] |
| 12 | Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court | |
| Bishops | ||
| 13 | Chief of the Armed Forces | Thomas Süssli[8] |
| Secretaries of State | ||
| 14 | Members of the National Council[note 1] | see List of members of the National Council |
| 15 | Members of the Council of States[note 1] | see List of members of the Council of States |
| 16 | Judges of the Federal Supreme Court[note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Supreme Court |
| 17 | President of the Federal Criminal Court | Tito Ponti[9] |
| 18 | President of the Federal Administrative Court | Jean-Luc Baechler[10] |
| 19 | President of the Federal Patent Court | Mark Schweizer[11] |
| 20 | Heads of Swiss diplomatic missions | |
| Lieutenant Generals | ||
|
||
| President of the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology | Fritz Schiesser[15] | |
| 21 | Vice Presidents of the cantonal governments[note 3] | see List of cantonal executives |
| 22 | Vice President of the Federal Criminal Court | Giuseppe Muschietti[9] |
| 23 | Vice President of the Federal Administrative Court | Marianne Ryter[10] |
| 24 | Vice President of the Federal Patent Court | Frank Schnyder[11] |
| 25 | Members of the cantonal governments[note 3] | see List of cantonal executives |
| 26 | Members of the Board of the Swiss National Bank | Fritz Zurbrügg, Andréa Maechler[12] |
| 27 | Ambassadors | |
| Major Generals | ||
|
see Federal administration | |
| 28 | Mayor of Bern | Alec von Graffenried[16] |
| Rectors of universities and equivalent establishments | ||
| 29 | Presidents of cantonal legislatures[note 3] | see List of cantonal legislatures |
| Brigadier Generals | ||
| Deputy directors | ||
| 30 | University deans and directors | |
| 31 | Presidents of the cantonal courts[note 3] | |
| Deans of religious authorities | ||
| 32 | Judges of the Federal Criminal Court[note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Criminal Court |
| Professors of universities and equivalent establishments | ||
| 33 | Judges of the Federal Administrative Court[note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Administrative Court |
| 34 | Judges of the Federal Patent Court[note 1] | see List of judges of the Federal Patent Court |
| 35 | Presidents of municipal executive authorities[note 3] | |
| 36 | Chancellors of cantons[note 3] | |
| Ministers | ||
| Colonels | ||
| Vice directors | ||
| 37 | Members of cantonal legislatures[note 3] | see List of cantonal legislatures |
| 38 | ||
| Lieutenant Colonels | ||
| 39 | Majors | |
| Section heads | ||
| Priests and Protestant Ministers | ||
| 40 | Vicars |
Notes
- Precedence is determined by date of election.
- A General is only elected in time of war, and is ranked after the Federal Councillors.
- Precedence of cantonal authorities is determined by the order of cantons in article 1 of the Federal Constitution.
- The Vice Presidency of both chambers are numbered. Whenever the President is not available during the meetings of Parliament they are replaced by the available Vice Presidents. Usually the 1st Vice President succeeds the outgoing President with the 2nd Vice President taking the place of the 1st one.