Switzerland’s Parmelin Will Leave Government at Year-End

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin announced his resignation, saying he will leave office at the end of the year, when his one-year term as the country’s rotating president also ends.

Parmelin, 66, is currently the longest-serving member of Switzerland’s executive, having been part of the government for more than a decade. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party politician will step down on Dec. 31, he said on Friday in Bern.

“It’s never the right time to leave,” he told reporters. “There’s always something you maybe want to finish and then something else starts. At some point, you have to decide.”

Swiss ministers are elected for four-year terms and there’s no limit to how many of those they can do. They typically stay in office for about a decade, according to the government website.

The former wine farmer from the Lake Geneva region first led the defense department, before taking over the economy portfolio in 2019. Last year, he gained some prominence sealing Switzerland’s trade deal with the US, taking the spotlight after Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter failed to stop outsized tariffs.

Parmelin’s departure comes just after the country’s key trade negotiator, Helene Budliger Artieda, said she’d leave in March.

His resignation also precludes any results of a Swiss investigation into controversial gifts given to Donald Trump shortly before Washington agreed to the tariff deal. In a November 2025 visit endorsed by the Swiss government, a group of private-sector executives handed the US president a gold bar and a Rolex clock.

Parmelin said at a press conference that the introduction of the 39% US tariffs was a “painful moment” after which “we had to roll up our sleeves to find solutions.”

Despite being a member of the anti-immigrant SVP, Parmelin typically struck a less dogmatic tone than many of his peers. His party was responsible for the recent unsuccessful push to cap Switzerland’s population at 10 million.

The Swiss People’s Party is expected to retain his seat on the Federal Council, which rules the country. His successor will be elected by parliament, probably in December. He or she will not necessarily take over the economy department, as it is also possible that ministers swap jobs.

Switzerland’s government isn’t made up of a coalition or an outright majority, but of seven members from the country’s four largest parties. Decisions are usually made by consensus, and ministers are bound by the long-standing principle of publicly supporting the executive’s stance regardless of their party’s position or how they voted behind closed doors.

The Swiss presidency rotates among the members of government annually.

Currently finishing his second stint as president, Parmelin told reporters he believes he leaves Switzerland “well positioned to tackle challenges” and that it is time for others to take over.

“No one is irreplaceable,” he said. “The cemeteries are full of people who thought they were absolutely indispensable.”

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