Federal Department of Finance

Swiss government department

Karin Keller-Sutter, Federal Councillor

Child agencies

State Secretariat for International Financial Matters
Federal Finance Administration
Federal Office of Personnel
Federal Tax Administration
Federal Office for Customs and Border Security
Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication
Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics
Swiss Federal Audit Office
FINMA
Swiss Federal Pension Fund

Websitewww.efd.admin.ch

The Federal Department of Finance (FDF, German: Eidgenössisches Finanzdepartement, French: Département fédéral des finances, Italian: Dipartimento federale delle finanze, Romansh: Departament federal da finanzas^ⓘ) is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government. The department is headquartered in Bern and headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerland's finance minister. Initially, in 1848, the department was called "Department of Finance", then, from 1873 "Department of Finance and Customs", until it received its present designation in 1978.

Organisation

The Department is composed of the following offices:^[2]

General Secretariat
State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF)
Federal Finance Administration (FFA): Responsible for the budget, financial planning, financial policy, the federal treasury and financial equalisation between the Confederation and the cantons. It also supervises the federal mint and the Central Compensation Office (CCO) in Geneva (responsible for implementing the Swiss social security).
Federal Office of Personnel (FOPER): Responsible for human resources management, personnel policy and personnel training.
Federal Tax Administration (FTA): Responsible for federal revenue collection and the application of federal tax laws in the cantons.
Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS): Responsible for monitoring the import, export and transit of goods, collecting customs duties, traffic charges and taxes.
- Swiss Border Guard, which carries out border police duties.
Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT): Provides IT services for the federal administration.
Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FOBL): Responsible for property management, central procurement of non-durable goods, federal publications and the production of the Swiss passport.

The following independent authorities are affiliated to the FDF for administrative purposes:

Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO): The federal government audit office. Examines accounting practices and verifies the proper and efficient use of resources by the administration, other public service institutions and subsidy recipients.
Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA): Regulates banks, insurances, securities dealers, investment funds and stock exchanges, as well as the disclosure of shareholding interests, public takeover bids and mortgage lenders.
Federal Pension Fund (PUBLICA): Provides insurance coverage to employees of the federal administration, the other branches of the federal government and associated organisations.^[3]

The main entrance
A meeting room.

List of heads of the department

1848–1850: Josef Munzinger
1851 only: Henri Druey
1852 only: Josef Munzinger
1853–1855: Henri Druey
1855–1856: Josef Martin Knüsel
1857–1858: Jakob Stämpfli
1859–1861: Constant Fornerod
1862–1863: Josef Martin Knüsel
1864–1867: Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel
1868 only: Victor Ruffy
1869 only: Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel
1870–1871: Paul Cérésole
1872 only: Karl Schenk
1872–1873: Johann Jakob Scherer
1873–1875: Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
1876–1878: Bernhard Hammer
1879 only: Simeon Bavier
1880–1890: Bernhard Hammer
1891–1899: Walter Hauser
1900 only: Robert Comtesse
1901–1902: Walter Hauser
1903 only: Robert Comtesse
1904 only: Marc-Émile Ruchet
1905–1909: Robert Comtesse
1910 only: Josef Anton Schobinger
1911 only: Robert Comtesse
1912–1919: Giuseppe Motta
1920–1934: Jean-Marie Musy
1934–1938: Albert Meyer
1939–1943: Ernst Wetter
1944–1951: Ernst Nobs
1952–1954: Max Weber
1954–1959: Hans Streuli
1960–1962: Jean Bourgknecht
1962–1968: Roger Bonvin
1968–1973: Nello Celio
1974–1979: Georges-André Chevallaz
1980–1983: Willy Ritschard
1984–1995: Otto Stich
1996–2003: Kaspar Villiger
2004–2010: Hans-Rudolf Merz
2010–2016: Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
2016–2022: Ueli Maurer
2023–present: Karin Keller-Sutter

References

^ ^a ^b Swiss Federal Chancellery. "The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide 2009". Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
^ "Organisation chart". Federal Department of Finance. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008.
^ Federal Act on the Federal Pension Fund, of 20 December 2006 (status as of 1 January 2012), Federal Chancellery of Switzerland (page visited on 5 September 2016).