[1] As President of the Swiss Confederation, he served as Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2014.

[citation needed] On 11 November 2007, Burkhalter was elected to the Council of States, along with Social Democratic Party (SP/PS) candidate Gisèle Ory, who was reelected for a second term.

[citation needed] On 4 December 2013, Burkhalter was elected as President of the Swiss Confederation for the 2014 term by taking 183 of the available 222 votes of the Federal Assembly.

He was also the highest-ranking official in the Swiss order of precedence and had the power to act on behalf of the whole Federal Council in emergency situations.

In April 2018, Burkhalter stated he disagreed with his colleagues on arms exports to war zones and equal pay for men and women, issues he described as "fundamental values.