Philippe Joye, former Geneva State Councillor and architect, remembered for his contributions and visionary projects.

Former Geneva State Councillor Philippe Joye (CVP) passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82. The architect, who had been suffering from an illness for several years, was a member of the government for one legislative term between 1993 and 1997 and headed the Department of Public Works.

Joye’s political career began in the Grand Council in 1985. From 1988 to 1993, the Christian Democrat was once again a member of parliament before being elected to the State Council.

In 2013, Joye switched to the Mouvement Citoyens Genevois (MCG) and was elected to the Grand Council. As he was in poor health, he was only a member of the cantonal parliament for one year. In April 2015, he was elected to the municipal council of Vernier, but ultimately resigned.

“Philippe Joye had a high level of political and technical expertise,” emphasized Baertschi. He was not always a prophet in his own country: his major project, a transport link across the port of Lake Geneva, was rejected in a referendum in 1996.

“He was a man full of friendliness and openness towards others. He had a collection of ties with the image of Babar on them, which earned him his nickname,” Baertschi recalls.

When Philippe was born in a Fribourg hospital, his twin brother was swapped with another baby. The mistake was only discovered six years later and the two children were returned to their biological parents.

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