Mayor of Swiss municipality celebrates 45 years in office

Castaneda: the same commune president for 45 years Keystone-SDA

This weekend Attilio Savioni celebrated 45 years of being mayor of the Graubünden municipality of Castaneda. This long career remains an exception in the Swiss municipal landscape.

At the age of 35, Savioni never thought he would stay in office for so long but the 80-year-old attributed his long stint to a love of commitment and contact with people. And elections have often been a moot point due to a lack of competition. This is how he has led the municipality of 285 inhabitants since 1980.

Despite this longevity at the head of the municipality, it is still not a record. The record goes to Edwin Zeiter, of the municipality of Bister in the Valais, who retired last year after 48 years of service. The average term of office for local authority heads is two to three years, with a maximum of 16 years.

In general, the larger the municipality, the more likely it is that the number of terms will be limited. According to an internal estimate by the Graubünden Municipalities Office, around 40% of Graubünden’s municipalities have introduced such a rule.

Savioni’s term of office ends next year. He doesn’t completely rule out standing for office again. “I’m not saying no yet. We’ll have to wait and see if the people of Castaneda still want me in this position,” he told news agency Keystone-SDA.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

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