The Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland was initially named Federal Secretary (Bundesschreiber).
After both Vice-Chancellors retired in 2005, a row erupted over language representation when Oswald Sigg was named successor to Vice-Chancellor and Federal Council spokesman Achille Casanova.
With Federal Chancellor Annemarie Huber-Hotz and the other Vice-Chancellorship conferred to Corina Casanova (no relationship to Achille Casanova), the three key roles in the Federal Chancellery were held by Swiss Germans.
[1] Remarkably enough, though, when Corinna Casanova was elected Federal Chancellor three years later, the nomination of Thomas Helbling as her successor, another Swiss German, raised no such public criticism.
[2] Whether founded or not, the appointment of André Simonazzi in 2009 did indeed restore the language balance.