2008 in Switzerland explained

Events during the year 2008 in Switzerland.

Incumbents

• Federal Council

^[1]

• • Pascal Couchepin (president)^[2]
  • Moritz Leuenberger
  • Samuel Schmid (until December), then Ueli Maurer
  • Micheline Calmy-Rey
  • Hans-Rudolf Merz
  • Doris Leuthard
  • Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf

Events

• 27 August – Anna Göldi, who was beheaded in 1782 for witchcraft, is exonorated by the parliament of the Canton of Glarus.^[3]
• 10 September – The Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, is switched on at CERN, in Geneva.^[4]

Deaths

• 29 April – Albert Hofmann, chemist (born 1906)^[5]
• 23 July – Kurt Furgler, politician (born 1924)^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: All federal councillors since 1848 . www.admin.ch . 22 January 2024 . en.
2. Web site: Presidents of the Confederation . www.admin.ch . 22 January 2024 . en.
3. Web site: Swiss exonerate Europe's last executed witch . NBC News . 11 March 2024 . en . 27 August 2008.
4. Web site: Sample . Ian . Cern throws switch on largest machine ever built . The Guardian . 14 February 2024 . 10 September 2008.
5. Web site: Dr Albert Hofmann obituary . The Guardian . 26 February 2024.
6. Web site: Kurt Furgler . www.admin.ch . 10 February 2024 . en.