The Grand Council of Geneva (french: Grand Conseil de Genève) is the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

of the canton of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

legislature. The Grand Council was established in its present form and with 100 seats in 1842, with members elected every four years. Its oldest ancestor is the Council of Two Hundred (with 200 seats), founded in 1526."Histoire de Genève"
, Helvetia-genevensis Society. Members of the canton's executive, the Conseil d'Etat, are elected a month later. There is a 7% threshold that political parties wishing to be represented on the Grand Council must overcome. Seven parties did so at the most recent election, held on 15 April 2018. In 2018, on a lower turnout compared with 2013,

right-wing populists Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Est ...

lost previous gains, with the traditionally dominant parties, the Liberals, the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and the Greens, increasing their votes.

Secretary

The office of the secretary of the Grand Council of Geneva is headed by the ''sautier''; originally, the role of the sautier was military, and he was the head of the watch. Overtime, the function changed and the sautier became the permanent secretary of the Grand Council. One of his duties include the regular observation of the

Geneva official chestnut tree The Geneva official chestnut tree is a horse chestnut tree planted in Geneva, Switzerland. Every year, the tree is observed by the secretary of the Grand Council of Geneva (the local parliament), and the opening of the first leaf is recorded and ...

, and the recording of the date of the opening of the first leaf on an official register. This event is then announced to the press and to the general public, indicating the beginning of the Spring.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Council Of Geneva 1842 establishments in Europe Cantonal legislatures of Switzerland Politics of the canton of Geneva