The historical quiz Do you know the answers to these 10 Federal Council questions?

Switzerland will have a new Federal Councillor at the end of March. But what do you actually know about our government and its history? Test your knowledge in the blue News Quiz. Detailed answers can be found below.

In other countries there are presidents, but in Switzerland there are seven Federal Councillors. How well do you know them and their history? Test your knowledge in the blue News Quiz:

Unwritten and written lawsDo you want to become a Federal Councillor? This is what you need to bring with you

Please note: only read on from here if you want to know the answers.

In November 1848, the first Federal Assembly convened, elected the first Federal Council and made Bern the federal city. With the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1848, Switzerland became a modern federal state.

Seven men were elected in this first Federal Council election: Jonas Furrer (President of the Confederation), Ulrich Ochsenbein, Henri Druey, Josef Munzinger, Friedrich Frey-Herosé, Wilhelm Matthias Naeff and Stefano Franscini.

Two Federal Councillors have been voted out of office in the last hundred years: Ruth Metzler and Christoph Blocher.

Ruth Metzler was elected to the Federal Council for the CVP in March 1999. She was 34 years old when she was elected, the second youngest member the Federal Council has ever had. She was voted out of office in 2003 because the SVP had won so many new seats in the National Council and Council of States in the elections that, according to the magic formula, it could claim another seat in the Federal Council.

Christoph Blocher was elected instead of Metzler. He remained in the Federal Council until 2007. Then he was also voted out of office. The reason: many members of the Federal Assembly preferred Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

Since the introduction of women's suffrage (1971), there have been ten women in the Federal Council:

The youngest member of the Federal Council ever was Numa Droz (FDP). He became a Federal Councillor in 1875 at the age of 31. He remained in office until 1892.

A member of the Federal Council can lose their office during their term of office, but only for serious reasons. For example: Because he or she becomes so ill that the Federal Councillor's duties can no longer be fulfilled, the person becomes unfit to hold office, if the Federal Councillor's actions cause great harm to Switzerland's position in the world or if there is suspicion of illegal conduct.

However, there is no direct procedure for removing a Federal Councillor from office in the other cases. Instead, the person's political immunity must be lifted.

This has happened once so far. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Kopp resigned in 1989 following suspicions that she had violated official secrecy. Her political immunity was lifted so that the suspicion could be investigated. She was acquitted in 1990.

Federal Councillors enjoy a number of privileges. Among other things, they, their spouses and children (up to the age of 18) receive a diplomatic passport. This means they do not need a visa in some countries.

The Federal Councillors decide among themselves who will take over which department. The person who has been in the Federal Council the longest is allowed to state their preferred department first. This continues in turn until it is the turn of the newest member.

If the members of the Federal Council cannot agree on who should take over what, a vote is held. The assigned department must then be taken over.

Members of the Federal Council often want a department that is particularly important to their party. They can exert influence there, for example by deciding who heads it apart from them or by speeding up or slowing down decisions.

Between 1848 and the end of the First World War, an astonishing number of Federal Councillors died in office. In fact, 18 out of 46, or almost 40 percent. The reason for this was that there was no pension scheme until 1919, so they often remained in office for financial reasons despite old age and illness. After the introduction of the pension scheme, fewer serving Federal Councillors died. Five to date.

There was also one suicide in the Federal Council, in 1880, when Fridolin Anderwert took his own life with a pistol on the Kleine Schanze in Bern on December 25 after a media mudslinging.

Schaffhausen, Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden - no one from these four cantons has actually ever been elected to the federal government. Other cantons such as Bern, Zurich and Vaud have had representation in the Federal Council more often.

For some time after 1848, it was actually normal for incumbent Federal Councillors to stand for election as National Councillors after each legislature. Only when the people had successfully elected them to the National Council could they stand for election to the Federal Council again. The people therefore confirmed the Federal Councillors by re-electing them, and if they refused to re-elect them, there were consequences.