The election of Simonetta Sommaruga (centre) is a historic moment Switzerland’s parliament has voted a new minister into the government, giving the cabinet a majority of women for the first time.
The election of Simonetta Sommaruga, a Social Democrat, is a historic step in a country where women only got to vote on a national level in 1971.
Ms Sommaruga becomes the fourth female in the seven-member Federal Council.
One of the other posts in the Federal Council will be filled by another vote later in the day.
The seven members of the Swiss cabinet are always drawn from the four leading parties.
Women in Switzerland have traditionally had a low-key role in public life, says the BBC’s Imogen Foulkes in Berne.
They first got to vote at local canton level in 1959, but not at federal level until 1971. The last canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, finally granted them voting rights in 1990.
The first female government minister was elected in 1984, but until now only six women have ever held ministerial posts.
But, when it comes to gender equality, the new team will still have a mountain to climb, our correspondent says.
Swiss women lag well behind men in average salaries, the Swiss state spends less than a third of Unicef’s recommended minimum on childcare, and when it comes to maternity leave, Switzerland ranks as the least generous country in Europe.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.