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Enlargement Of Switzerland
The territorial evolution of Switzerland occurred primarily with the acquisition of territory by the historical cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy and its close associates. This gradual expansion took place in two phases, the growth from the medieval Founding Cantons to the "Eight Cantons" during 1332–1353, and the expansion to the "Thirteen Cantons" of the Reformation period during 1481–1513. The Helvetic Republic (formed 1798) as revised in the Act of Mediation (1803) added further territories of former Associates of the Swiss Confederacy, notably those of the Abbey of St. Gall and the Three Leagues. The territories of the Valais, the Swiss Jura and Geneva were added to the "restored" Confederacy following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The restored Confederacy remained a union of nominally independent states until the formation of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848. Some territorial disputes remained, and were resolved in the 1850s and 1860s. Since t ...
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Old Swiss Confederation
The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland. It formed at the end of the 13th century, from foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy, a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy, expanding to include the cities of Zurich and Bern by the middle of the 14th century. This formed a rare union of rural and urban medieval commune, communes, all of which enjoyed imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire. This confederation of eight cantons () was politically and militarily successful for more than a century, culminating in the Burgundy Wars of the 1470s which established it as a power in the complicated political landscape dominated by Early modern France, France and the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs. Its success resulted in the addition of more con ...
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Switzerland As A Federal State
The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the ''Sonderbundskrieg''. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United States Constitution and the ideas of the French Revolution, was modified several times during the following decades and wholly replaced in 1999. The 1848 constitution represented the first time, other than when the short-lived Helvetic Republic had been imposed, that the Swiss had a central government instead of being simply a collection of autonomous cantons bound by treaties. Sonderbund War In 1847, the period of Swiss history known as Restoration ended with a war between the conservative Roman Catholic and the liberal Protestant cantons (the ''Sonderbundskrieg''). The conflict between the Catholic and Protestant cantons had existed since the Reformation; in the 19th century the Protestant population had a majority. The ''Sonderbund'' ...
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Appenzell
Appenzell () was a cantons of Switzerland, canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen, in existence from 1403 to 1597. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, becoming a full member in 1513. It was partition (politics), divided into Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1597 (in a process called the :de:Landteilung_(Appenzell), Landteilung) as a result of the Swiss Reformation. The territory of Appenzell as a geographical entity is known as . While in political contexts, the two cantons (until 1999 half-cantons) are referred to as ('both Appenzells'). History Foundation The name ''Appenzell'' derives from 'cell (i.e., estate) of the abbot'. This refers to the Abbey of St. Gall, which exerted a great influence on the area. By the middle of the 11th century the abbots of St Gall had established their power in the land later calle ...
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Swiss Cantons
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms ('Eight Cantons'; from 1353 to 1481) and ('Thirteen Cantons', from 1513 to 1798).rendered "the 'confederacy of eight'" and "the 'Thirteen-Canton Confederation'", respectively, in: Each canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy, formerly also ('lieu/locality', from before 1450), or ('estate', from ), was a fully sovereign state with its own border controls, army, and currency from at least the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848, with a brief period of centralised government during the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803). The term has been widely used since the 19th century. "" The number of cantons was increased to 19 with the Act of Media ...
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Federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is Constitution, constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by the component states nor the federal political body without constitutional amendment. Sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. Overriding powers of a central authority theoretically can include the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by invoking gross mismanagement or civil unrest, or to adopt national legislation that override ...
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2011 Swiss Federal Election
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 23 October 2011. All of the Federal Assembly were to be elected: all 200 seats in the National Council and all 46 seats in the Council of States. Voter turnout was 49.1%, compared to 48.9% in 2007. National Council At the last election, in 2007, the Swiss People's Party (SVP) won the highest share of the vote ever recorded for a single party in Switzerland, with 29% of the vote. Soon after, a moderate faction split from the SVP, forming the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP). In the 2011 election, the two neophyte parties BDP and Green Liberal Party (GLP) were successful, each receiving 5.4% of the popular vote. Both the GLP and the BDP have gained the required five seats to form their own parliamentary groups, suggesting a split of the centrist CVP/EVP/glp group. All other major parties lost votes, the Swiss People's Party (SVP) for the first time since the 1987 elections. With 26.6% of the popular vote, the SVP is st ...
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Dominique Baettig
Dominique Baettig (born 22 September 1953, in Delémont) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss People's Party. A psychiatrist by profession, he represented the canton of Jura in the National Council in the 2007–2011 legislature. Political views In response to the Durban Review Conference, Baettig accused the Holocaust of being an instrument of Zionism to suppress free speech and demonize opponents, criticizing the belief it is not subject to historical review and examination. In 2010, Baettig submitted a motion to change the constitution in anticipation of a possible future enlargement of Switzerland.Erleichterte Integration grenznaher Regionen als neue Schweizer Kantone', motion 10.3215 of 18 March 2010 by Dominique Baettig. It was co-signed by SVP president Toni Brunner. Baettig played a role in successfully blocking a visit by former U.S. President George W. Bush to the country in February 2011, lobbying the federal prosecutor's office to have him arrested stemm ...
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Canton Of Jura
The Republic and Canton of Jura (officially in ), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( ; ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shares borders with the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the canton of Bern, the canton of Neuchatel, the canton of Solothurn, and the French regions of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est. History The king of Burgundy donated much of the land that today makes up canton Jura to the bishop of Basel in 999. The area was a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire for more than 800 years. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the Jura had close ties with the Swiss Confederation. At the Congress of Vienna (1815), the Jura region became part of the canton of Bern. This act caused dissension. The Jura was French-speaking and Roman Catholic, whereas the canton of Bern was mostly German-speaking and Protestant. After World War II, ...
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Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; (BV); (Cst.); (Cost.); ) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights (including the right to call for popular referendums on federal laws and constitutional amendments), delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government. The Constitution was adopted by a referendum on 18 April 1999, in which a majority of the people and the cantons voted in favour. It replaced the prior federal constitution of 1874, which it was intended to bring up to date without changing its substance. History Prior to 1798, the Swiss Confederacy was a confederation of independent states, not a federal state; as such it was based on treaties rather than a constitution. T ...
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