The Council of State of the Canton of Vaud (French: Conseil d'État du Canton de Vaud) is the executive organ of the Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. Vaud has a seven-member Conseil d'État. The responsibilities of the Council of State is to run the administration, submit laws and decrees to the Grand Council, observe a budget and adopt regulations or directives.^[1] Essentially, the Cantons define their own structure within federal regulations. Switzerland consists of twenty-six cantons in which each can influence the federal government.^[2] Vaud is a part of these cantons, and it is the central area connected to high trafficked communication routes in Switzerland.