The Swiss parliament on Wednesday elected Energy Minister Doris Leuthard to serve in 2017 in the largely symbolic position of president of Switzerland, for a second time. The choice of the 53-year-old was all but certain, since it was her turn among the seven members of the Federal Council, or government, to take on the rotating one-year presidency.
The Christian Democrat who heads the ministry of environment, transport, energy and communications, won with 188 votes out of the 207 ballots, underlining strong support across the country's political divides. Leuthard, who previously served as Swiss president in 2010, has served as vice president in 2016 and will succeed Economic Affairs Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann of the Liberal Party at the helm of the government on January 1. Socialist Alain Berset will take over as vice president, paving the way for him to rise to the presidency in 2018.
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