Pierre Maudet (born 6 March 1978) is a Swiss and French politician. A former member of

FDP.The Liberals FDP.The Liberals (, , , ) is a liberal political party in Switzerland. The party was formed on 1 January 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and the smaller Liberal Party (LPS/PLS), united. In Vaud and Valais, the parti ...

, he was the mayor of

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from 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012. Long described as "prodigy" of Swiss politics, Maudet became embroiled in a series of legal battles after a controversial undeclared all-expense trip to Abu Dhabi. Maudet ended up being expelled from the Geneva branch of the FDP, resigned from his position at the cantonal government in 2021 and lost his bid for re-election to

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidate Fabienne Fischer. Running again with his own party ''Liberté et Justice sociale'' ("Freedom and Social Justice"), Maudet is re-elected to the Geneva Council of State in April 2023.

Biography

Pierre Maudet is the son of Henri Maudet (born 1948), a Frenchman who first studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

before moving to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and becoming a lawyer, and Susanna Willy (born 1943), a teacher. Maudet was born on 6 March 1978 in Geneva and attended the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

. On 17 June 2012, he was elected to the

Council of State of Geneva The Council of State of Geneva () is the List of cantonal executives of Switzerland, executive organ of the Canton of Canton of Geneva, Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva has a seven-member ''Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland), Conseil d'État''. History ...

, the executive council of the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...

with 40,966 votes out of 104,375 cast. In 2017, he was nominated by his party to run for the

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. He lost the election in the second ballot receiving 90 votes against

Ignazio Cassis Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis (; born 13 April 1961) is a Swiss physician and politician who has been a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 1 November 2017. A member of FDP.The Liberals, Cas ...

who received 125 votes and therefore achieved the absolute majority. The election took place on 20 September 2017. In 2018, he writes a regular column in the

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newspaper ''

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''.

Controversial 2015 expenses-paid trip to Abu Dhabi

In November 2015, Pierre Maudet and his family, his former

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Patrick Baud-Lavigne and Antoine Daher, a friend active in real estate in Geneva, made a luxury trip to Abu Dhabi. Pierre Maudet initially claimed until May 2018 that the trip, including business class flights, accommodation at the

Emirates Palace The Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi (Arabic: قصر الإمارات) is a luxury five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It has been operated by Mandarin Oriental as of 1 January 2020. The hotel project was launched ...

and access to the

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race was a private trip, paid for by his friend and it was by chance that he met Sheikh

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 11 March 1961), also known as MbZ, is an Emirati royal and politician who is serving as the third and current president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi since 2022. Mohamed completed his edu ...

, Crown Prince of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. Following this meeting, he held talks with senior officials on political issues. A police report on the trip was submitted to the courts in August 2017, and proceedings were opened against an unknown person, Pierre Maudet and his chief of staff. In August 2018, the public prosecutor claims Pierre Maudet accepted flights and accommodation for an amount estimated at several tens of thousands of Swiss francs. While denying a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

, Pierre Maudet then admitted “having hidden part of the truth”. In September 2018, the Council of State of Geneva decided to temporarily withdraw the Presidential Department from Pierre Maudet, now entrusted to

Antonio Hodgers Antonio Hodgers (born 7 February 1976 in Buenos Aires) is a Swiss politician and member of the Green Party of Switzerland. He has been Councillor of State of Geneva since December 2013, and president of the Council of State from 13 September 2018 ...

. Pierre Maudet also lost responsibility for the police to

Mauro Poggia Mauro Poggia (born 25 April 1959 in Moutier) is a Swiss-Italian politician. He is a member of the Geneva Citizens' Movement (MCG) and has been a member of the Council of State of Geneva since 2013. Previously, he served in the National Council f ...

and for

Geneva Airport Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...

to . On 23 November 2018, an online petition on

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was launched urging Maudet to resign and Pierre Maudet was criticized by Swiss Liberal Party president

Petra Gössi Petra Christina Antonella Gössi known as Petra Gössi (born 12 January 1976) is a Swiss politician. She was a member of the National Council from 2011 to 2023 for The Liberals and was elected to the Council of States in 2023. Previously she s ...

, who stated: "If I were Pierre Maudet, I would have already resigned". In July 2020, Swiss FDP committee voted 22 for-1 opposed-1 abstention for expulsion of M. Pierre Maudet from Swiss FDP party for ethics violations regarding his acceptance and inaccurate reporting regarding Dubai travel and acceptance of related gratuities. On 29 October 2020 he announced his resignation from his government position, adding that he would run again in the subsequent March 2021 election. He was found guilty of accepting illegal advantages on 22 February 2021 and given a suspended 300

day-fine A day-fine, unit fine or structured fine is a pecuniary sanction which is based on the severity of the offence as well as the income (or wealth) of the offender. The fine amount is calculated by determining the number of days based on the sever ...

sentence. Maudet then lost his bid for re-election to the Geneva Cantonal government in a run-off to

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

candidate Fabienne Fischer. He nevertheless indicated his intention to remain politically active. On 3 May 2021 a local cybersecurity company announced his hiring.

Return to politics

In January 2023, Pierre Maudet launches a re-election bid under the banner of the ''Liberté et Justice sociale'' ("Freedom and Social Justice") party that he created. He finishes sixth, thus securing a seat at the Geneva Council of State.

Books

* Philippe Reichen: ''Pierre Maudet − sein Fall.'' Stämpfli, Bern 2019, .

References

External links