Green Party of Switzerland

The Green Party of Switzerland (Grüne Partei der Schweiz; Les verts– Parti écologiste suisse; I Verdi– Partito ecologista svizzero; La Verda– Partida ecologica svizra; "The Greens– Swiss ecological party") is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest not represented on the Federal Council.

History
The first Green party in Switzerland was founded as a local party in 1971 in the town of Neuchâtel. In 1979 Daniel Brélaz was elected to the National Council as the first Green parliamentarian on the national level. Local and regional Green parties and organisations were founded in many different towns and cantons in the following years.

In 1983, two different national green party federations were created: in May, diverse local green groups came together in Fribourg to form the Federation of Green Parties of Switzerland, and in June, some left-alternative groups formed the Green Alternative Party of Switzerland in Bern. In 1990, an attempt to fuse these organisations failed. Afterwards, some of the member groups from the Green Alternative Party joined the Federation of Green Parties which has become the de facto national Green party. In 1993, the Federation of Green Parties changed its name to the Green Party of Switzerland.

In 1986 the first two Green members of a cantonal government become members of the Regierungsrat of Bern.

In 1987, the Green Party of Switzerland joined the European Federation of Green Parties.

In the 1990s, members of the Green Party became town mayors, members of the high court and even president of a cantonal government (Verena Diener in 1999).

Ideology
The Swiss Greens have adopted the motto "think globally, act locally." Their vision is a human livelihood for all humans in an intact environment. To reach this vision, the Swiss Greens work for sustainable development, environmentalism and human rights. Key criteria for their politics are:
 * long-term solutions
 * quality over quantity
 * social and economic solidarity
 * political and economic decentralisation
 * economic diversification

Popular support
Green Members of the National Council (200 seats)
 * 1979 - 1 member
 * 1983 - 4 members
 * 1987 - 11 members, forming the fifth-largest faction
 * 1991 - 14 members
 * 1995 - 9 members (+ 2 other councilors joining the green faction)
 * 1999 - 9 members (+ 1 other councilor)
 * 2003 - 14 members (+ 1 other councilor)
 * 2007 - 20 members (+ 1 other councilor)

On the national level, in 2003 the Green Party was not represented in the Council of States or Federal Council. In 2007, two Green Party members were elected to the Council of States.

By 2005, the party held 3.8 percent of the seats in the Swiss cantonal executive governments and 6.9 percent in the Swiss cantonal parliaments (index "BADAC", weighted with the population and number of seats). The Green Party is today (2007) represented in the governments of the cantons Bern, Basel-City, Geneva (two ministers), Neuchâtel, Nidwalden, Vaud and Zug (two ministers).