Swiss President Guy Parmelin announces resignation at end of year

Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced on Friday that he will step down from the government at the end of the year. Parmelin, who has served as a minister for more than a decade, informed his colleagues on the Federal Council of his decision to resign on 31 December.

“By then, it will have been 11 years since I was elected to this role, and the time has come for me to make way for new energy in these times of great uncertainty,” Parmelin told a press conference in Bern. He admitted feeling “a certain weariness” but insisted he was not stepping down for medical reasons.

Tariff negotiations and diplomatic role

Parmelin, a winegrower from the French-speaking canton of Vaud and member of the hard-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP), is the longest-serving minister on the Federal Council. He joined the council in 2016 as defence minister and has held the economy brief since 2019. As economy minister, he travelled to Washington three times to negotiate a reduction in US tariffs on Swiss goods, which President Donald Trump had set at 39% in August 2025. The two countries later announced a declaration of intent to cut tariffs to 15%, with Switzerland pledging to invest $200 billion (€178 billion) in the United States.

Parmelin previously served as Swiss president in 2021, when Switzerland hosted a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden in Geneva. The Swiss presidency rotates annually among the seven members of the Federal Council. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is expected to become president in 2027. Parmelin’s successor will come from the SVP, with candidates to come forward by 23 October and parliament to choose on 9 December.