Urs Hürlimann, cantonal director of planning, announces he will not be standing for re-election

Urs Hürlimann, the director of planning, has announced he will not be standing for a third term as a member of the cantonal government at the elections in autumn.
 
In the letter announcing his decision, the 62-year-old wrote that he had spent months consulting with his family, wondering whether to call it a day after being initially director of health and then director of planning for a total of seven years, prior to which he had been the chief constable of the Zug police force for 28 years. The FDP politician said that he had decided he wanted to start a new chapter in his life from the beginning of 2019. Of note, too, is that Hürlimann’s wife, Regula, the current mayoress of Hünenberg, will also be leaving public office after 20 years’ serving the community.
 
He went on to say that he remained very happy being director of planning, enjoying as he did great support from all those who worked in the department. As to precisely what he intended to do from this time onwards, he was not yet sure, though hunting was a possibility. “There is enough time for me to think about this,” he wrote, adding that he would be fully engaged in this present job for the next 11 months “over which time there was still much to be done”, mentioning major projects such as the Cham-Hünenberg bypass and the middle school in Cham, for which his successor would be taking over responsibility.
 
Hürlimann’s decision to stand down comes soon after fellow member of the cantonal government, Matthias Michel, announced his intention not to stand, too, which this means that two new representatives of the FDP party will have to be found to replace them.
 
Speaking in his capacity as chairman of the cantonal FDP party, Andreas Hostettler, who represents Baar in the cantonal parliament, said that, while he was not one for quotas, it might be time for a woman to succeed Hürlimann or Michel, the name of Steinhausen councillor Carina Brüngger being mentioned.
 
It is actually on Thursday 5 April that the party will be announcing whom it will be nominating for election to take over these roles.