Political Department (Switzerland)
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(in German) Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (in French) Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (in Italian) Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri (in Romansh) Departament federal d’affars exteriurs |
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.jpg) The west wing of the Federal Palace of Switzerland. |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1848 |
| Jurisdiction | Federal administration of Switzerland |
| Headquarters | Bern |
| Minister responsible | |
| Website | www.eda.admin.ch |
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, German: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, French: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, Italian: Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, Romansh: 
Departament federal d’affars exteriurs ), so named since 1979, is one of the seven Departments of the Swiss government federal administration of Switzerland, and corresponds in its range of tasks to the ministry of foreign affairs in other countries. The Department is always headed by one of the members of the Swiss Federal Council. As of 2012, the department is headed by Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter.
The mission of the FDFA is to safeguard Switzerland's interests abroad and its relations with other countries. It does so by means of Swiss Foreign Policy, whose objectives have been laid down in Art. 54 para. 2 of the Federal Constitution (BV) as follows:
The Confederation shall strive to preserve the independence of Switzerland and its welfare; it shall, in particular, contribute to alleviate need and poverty in the world, and to promote respect for human rights, democracy, the peaceful coexistence of nations and the preservation of natural resources.
The priorities of Swiss Foreign Policy for the years 2012–2015 include:
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