The Political Institutions of Switzerland

Switzerland is the only country where a head of state or a prime minister changes every year. Not only ordinary citizens in Switzerland participate in elections but they influence political decisions directly by voting in regular referenda. Voice of people is crucial in Switzerland, that is one of the reasons it did not join the UN until 2002, and it has not joined EU yet. 

On October 10, 2008 the lecture on the political institutions of Switzerland was conducted by Dr. Lorenzo Amberg, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Georgia and Armenia. The event took place in the hall of the 6th Building of Yerevan State University and attracted those interested in political institutions, democracy and minority rights. After the lecture His Excellency answered the questions on the current issues and developments in the South Caucasus. Some of the questions evolved around the latest events in Georgia, and Dr. Lorenzo expressed his opinion that the dynamic of conflict resolution after the Georgian conflict was positive.

Dr. Lorenzo Amberg is the Ambassador of Switzerland to Georgia and Armenia, with residence in Tbilisi since August 2006. He has got his doctorate degree in Slavic studies, from University of Zurich in 1985. Dr. Amberg started his professional career as a translator in the Embassy of Switzerland, Moscow in 1978. During the last years he has been working as a Counselor and Minister in Embassies of Switzerland in Belgrade, Serbia, New Delhi, India and Moscow, Russia. 

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