The cantonal governments are the highest executive authorities in the cantons. Firstly, they are responsible for the activities of government and are in charge of the cantonal administrations. They are for example responsible for preliminary legislative procedures, and they draw up the financial plan and budget and represent the canton both within the canton itself, and at national and international levels.

The cantonal governments all comprise five or seven members, who are normally in charge of a department or a directorate within the cantonal administration. In almost all the cantons, members of the government are now full time appointees. As with the Federal Council, the principle of collegiality applies in most cantonal governments, and the president enjoys no hierarchical seniority. In most cantons, the presidency rotates each year based on the length of time in office and the president has no major preferential rights over the other members, other than having the task of chairing government meetings. The Cantonal Chancellor takes part in government meetings in an advisory role. He or she acts as the chief of staff to the government and in this capacity is responsible for important planning tasks.

All 26 cantonal governments are elected directly by the people, and in most cantons these elections are held every four years. In 24 of the 26 cantons the election of the government follows a simple majority system, while Zug and Ticino have introduced proportional representation. The most important parties in the cantons normally have seats in the governments.

Important areas of activity in all cantonal administrations are: finance, justice, economics, education, social services, police/security and planning and building. The departmental structure of the administrations varies from canton to canton, however, both in relation to the number and designation of the offices and in relation to the way the work is allocated among the offices. The units directly subordinate to the head of department are normally known as offices or sections.