Hesperange mayor resigns after 16 years, citing health reasons

CSV deputy Marc Lies has resigned as mayor of Hesperange, citing health reasons, after taking a two-month break from the council earlier this year to recover from stress.

Lies, who has been the mayor of Hesperange since 2009, made the surprise announcement during a council meeting on Monday.

At the end of the meeting, the 56-year-old issued a statement in which he said the decision to step down had been “extremely difficult”.

“But my mental health has deteriorated in recent years. On top of that, I have other health issues. I’m grateful to have led the commune. But at some point, you have to realise how much you can still expect of yourself and the people around you,” he said.

Lies intends to formally step down after he chairs the next municipal council meeting in July, at which point he will also no longer be a member of the municipal council.

A municipal council member since 1999, he succeeded his party colleague Marie-Thérèse Gantenbein as mayor a decade later.

Lies will continue in his role as a member of parliament, a position he has held since 2008, according to a press release from the CSV.

In January, Lies had announced he would take a political break for two months to recover from stress.

(This article was originally published by Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing, adaptation and additional reporting by John Monaghan)