Switzerland: Foreign minister Cassis picked as new president

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s parliament has selected Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis to become the rich Alpine country’s next president on New Year’s Day. The choice of Cassis was largely a formality after he was chosen as vice president a year ago. Switzerland’s presidency rotates every year among the seven members of the executive Federal Council, and the president serves as the first among equals. The 60-year-old Cassis will be the first president from Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region this century when he succeeds President Guy Parmelin on Jan. 1. Cassis, who has a medical degree and practiced as a doctor, is a fluent speaker of German, French and Italian, Switzerland’s three main languages.