New Year Reception for the Diplomatic Corps, January 14, 2026
The President of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, welcomed the representatives of the diplomatic corps in Switzerland to the traditional New Year Reception at the Federal Palace. The congratulations of the foreign heads of mission were conveyed by the Vatican Nuncio to Switzerland, Monsignore Martin Krebs.
The diplomatic corps is the body of diplomatic staff posted to a particular state. It is presided over by a dean (doyen). In Switzerland, the representative of the Holy See, the apostolic nuncio, is recognised as the dean of the diplomatic corps.
The ceremony is attended by the ambassadors, chargés d'affaires, presidents of the National Council and Council of States, chairs of both councils’ foreign affairs committees and the head of the FDFA. Prior to this, the Swiss government accepts greetings from the authorities in Bern (the Canton, City and ‘Burgergemeinde’ of Bern).
