Greek government to restore unpaid deputy mayor posts for public employees

The Ministry of Interior, led by Minister Thodoris Livanios, will issue a decision reversing a recent circular that barred public‑sector workers from serving as unpaid deputy mayors. The upcoming regulation will reinstate the previous regime, apply retroactively to cover the automatic suspensions already imposed, and affect roughly 400 unpaid deputy mayors across Greece.

The measure is temporary: it will expire on 1 January 2029, after which public employees—including permanent civil servants, contract staff, university faculty, military personnel, security forces and National Health System doctors—will no longer be permitted to hold such positions. The decision is expected within the next few days, with a deadline of 17 July for municipalities to act.

The change aims to ease disruptions in local administrations that arose from the earlier ban, allowing elected officials who are public employees to resume their duties while preserving the new Local Government Code.