Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced Friday that he will quit the government at the end of the year, in a sudden move after more than a decade of ministerial service.
Switzerland’s presidency rotates annually among the seven members of the government, called the Federal Council, of which Parmelin, 66, was the longest-serving minister.
Parmelin told a press conference in Bern that he had informed ministerial colleagues of his decision to step down on December 31.
“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,” he said, admitting to feeling “a certain weariness”, while insisting he was not stepping down for medical reasons.
