Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
| (in German) Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung (in French) Département fédéral de l'économie, de la formation et de la recherche (in Italian) Dipartimento federale dell'economia, della formazione e della ricerca (in Romansh) Departament federal d'economia, furmaziun e retschertga | |
 | |
.jpg) The east wing of the Federal Palace of Switzerland | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1848 |
| Jurisdiction | Federal administration of Switzerland |
| Headquarters | Federal Palace (east wing), Bern |
| Employees | 1,919[1] |
| Annual budget | Expenditure: CHF 6.1 billion Revenue: CHF 271.8 million (2009)[1] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Website | www.wbf.admin.ch |
The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER, German: Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung; French: Département fédéral de l'économie, de la formation et de la recherche; Italian: Dipartimento federale dell'economia, della formazione e della ricerca) is one of the seven departments of the federal government of Switzerland, headed by a Member of the Swiss Federal Council.
The department was renamed from Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) effective on 1 January 2013 based on decisions taken by the Federal Council in 2011.[2]
Organisation
The department is composed of the following federal offices:[3]
- Federal Office for Civilian Service (CIVI): Responsible for the civilian service
- State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO): Responsible for national and international economic policy, trade negotiations and labour policy.
- State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
- Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG): Responsible for agricultural policy, for direct payments to Swiss farmers, and for Agroscope, center of excellence for agricultural research.
- Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES): Manages emergency supplies of essential goods and services.
- Federal Office for Housing (FOH): Responsible for housing policy.
As well as the following agencies:[3]
- Federal Consumer Affairs Bureau (FCAB)
- Price Supervision (PRS): Price ombudsman and responsible for the supervision of regulated prices.
- Information Service Center (WBF ISCeco)
- Competition Commission (COMCO),[4] the Swiss competition regulator.
- Innosuisse - Swiss Innovation Agency
- Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET): Provides training for vocational education professionals.
- ETH Board, which itself manages the ETH Domain, a group of technical universities and research institutes. These include the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research in Birmensdorf, the Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research and the Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology in Dübendorf.
Former offices
The Federal Veterinary office (FVO) was merged in 2014 into the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs, subordinated to the Federal Department of Home Affairs. The FVO was responsible for animal welfare and health, the safety of food of animal origin and the implementation of the CITES convention.
Names of the department
- 1848–1872: Department of Trade and Customs
- 1873–1878: Department of Railway and Trade
- 1879–1887: Department of Trade and Agriculture
- 1888–1895: Department of Industry and Agriculture
- 1896–1914: Department of Trade, Industry and Agriculture
- 1915–1978: Department of Economic Affairs
- 1979–2012: Federal Department of Economic Affairs
- 2013–present: Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
List of heads of the department
- 1848–1853: Friedrich Frey-Herosé
- 1854 only: Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
- 1855 only: Josef Munzinger
- 1855–1856: Constant Fornerod
- 1857 only: Melchior Josef Martin Knüsel
- 1858 only: Constant Fornerod
- 1859–1860: Melchior Josef Martin Knüsel
- 1861–1866: Friedrich Frey-Herosé
- 1867–1873: Wilhelm Matthias Naeff
- 1873–1874: Johann Jakob Scherer
- 1875–1877: Karl Schenk
- 1878 only: Joachim Heer
- 1879–1880: Numa Droz
- 1881 only: Louis Ruchonnet
- 1882–1886: Numa Droz
- 1887–1896: Adolf Deucher
- 1897 only: Adrien Lachenal
- 1898–1902: Adolf Deucher
- 1903 only: Ludwig Forrer
- 1904–1908: Adolf Deucher
- 1909 only: Josef Anton Schobinger
- 1910–1912: Adolf Deucher
- 1912–1934: Edmund Schulthess
- 1934–1940: Hermann Obrecht
- 1940–1947: Walther Stampfli
- 1948–1954: Rodolphe Rubattel
- 1955–1959: Thomas Holenstein
- 1960–1961: Friedrich Traugott Wahlen
- 1961–1969: Hans Schaffner
- 1970–1978: Ernst Brugger
- 1978–1982: Fritz Honegger
- 1983–1986: Kurt Furgler
- 1987–1998: Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
- 1998–2002: Pascal Couchepin
- 2003–2006: Joseph Deiss
- 2006–2010: Doris Leuthard
- 2010–2018: Johann Schneider-Ammann
- Since 2019: Guy Parmelin
Full-time positions since 2001
Sources:
"Federal Finance Administration FFA: State financial statements". Retrieved 27 March 2026.
"Federal Finance Administration FFA: Data portal". Retrieved 27 March 2026.
See also
- Swiss University Conference
- Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training
Notes and references
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Chancellery. "The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide 2009". Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ EAER instead of FDEA: Departmental reform implemented Archived 16 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, press release Archived 10 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine 28 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Federal offices and agencies". Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
- ^ OECD, Serial Offenders: Industries Prone to Endemic Collusion. Contribution from Switzerland, published on 6 October 2015, accessed on 27 June 2024