Walter Thurnherr Energy and Communications in 2011 as her chief of staff. He stood for election to succeed Corina Casanova as Federal Chancellor of Switzerland on 9 December 2015, as the first unopposed candidate in ninety years, and was elected by the Swiss Federal Assembly with 230 votes (out of 234 possible). He assumed office on 1 January 2016. Walter Thurnherr Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland since 1 January 2016. Born in Muri, Thurnherr graduated as a physicist at the ETH Zürich. In 1989, he joined the ranks of Switzerland's diplomatic corps. In 2002, he
Federal Palace of Switzerland Federal Palace of Switzerland The Federal Palace (, , , , ) refers to the building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It consists of a central assembly building and two wings (eastern and western) housing government departments and a library. The two chambers where the National Council and the Council of States meet are separated by the "Hall of the Dome". The dome itself has an external height of 64 m, and an internal height of 33 m. The mosaic in the center represents the federal coat of arms along with the