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Daniel Anrig

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Commander of the Swiss Guard

Daniel Anrig
Born (1972-07-10) 10 July 1972 (age 52)
Walenstadt, Switzerland
Allegiance Vatican City
Service / branchPontifical Swiss Guard
Swiss Army
Years of service1992–1994
2008–2015
RankColonel
CommandsPontifical Swiss Guard
Other workPolice officer
Banner of the Pontifical Swiss Guard of Pope Francis under the command of Anrig (2013–2015)

Colonel Daniel Rudolf Anrig (born 10 July 1972) was the thirty fourth Commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 August 2008. He replaced Elmar Mäder who had served as Commandant of the Swiss Guard since 2002. He was succeeded by Christoph Graf as his term ended on 31 January 2015 and was not extended by Pope Francis.

Anrig was born in Walenstadt (Canton of St. Gallen), Switzerland. He is married and has four children. Anrig served as halberdier in the Swiss Guard between 1992 and 1994. He graduated in civil and ecclesiastical law from the University of Fribourg in 1999.

Anrig held the rank of a captain in the Swiss Army.

He was head of criminal police in the canton of Glarus from 2002 to March 2006, when he became commanding general of police in the canton of Glarus. In 2003, Anrig was jointly responsible for a controversial raid by the Glarus cantonal police on human and drug trafficking in a home for asylum seekers. Following a complaint by Amnesty International, the investigating judge dropped the investigation into disproportionate action by the police because no findings relevant to criminal law were made. However, Anrig had to bear part of the legal costs.

On the 19th of August, 2008, Anrig was appointed as the thirty-fourth Commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guard by Pope Benedict XVI.

The period between 2012 and 2014 was increasingly overshadowed by internal quarrels. In 2012, the head of the Vatican police, Domenico Giani, and not Anrig, was honored by the international Catholic association "Tu es petrus" for his services to the security of the pope. In the tribute, Giani was referred to as the "Guardian Angel of the Pope."

On December 2, 2014, Anrig was unexpectedly dismissed. He supposedly ruled with an iron fist and lived in a luxury apartment. Allegedly, his military style irritated Pope Francis. The pope and ex-guards denied this.

From July 2015 to 2020, Anrig was head of the Staff Department --the smallest of four departments-- at the office of the Zurich cantonal police at Zürich Airport, which was questioned critically.

From November 1, 2020, Anrig was in charge of public administration in Zermatt as a communal secretary. In November 2022, he was reported missing for several weeks before the commune declared that he was sitting in pre-trial detention for a "relationship delict". In February 2023, he was released; and his employment with the commune of Zermatt was terminated. In 2020, he was fined by a court for threatening to kill himself, his ex-partner and their son; as of July 2023, his appeal was still pending.

References

  1. ^ Bunson, Matthew (15 October 2008). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Almanac. Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. pp. 261–. ISBN 9781592764419. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  2. "Swiss guard row over brutal police raid". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  3. "Pope Francis removes Swiss Guard chief". Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  4. "Ex-Swiss Guard head defends leadership style". 31 January 2015.
  5. "Swiss Guard — Organization". Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. "Neuer Kommandant der Schweizergarde | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  7. "Krempelt der Papst die Schweizergarde um?". Watson (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  8. Jürgensen, Nadine. "Der Papst nimmt Daniel Anrig in Schutz | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  9. "Ex-Kommandant beschäftigt Regierungsrat". Zürcher Unterländer (in German). 30 June 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  10. Ex-Kommandant beschäftigt Regierungsrat, Zürcher Unterländer 30 June 2015.
  11. "Daniel Anrig neuer Gemeindeschreiber" (PDF).
  12. Kunz, Samira (27 March 2023). "Deshalb war der Ex-Kommandant der Schweizergarde monatelang in U-Haft" [This is why the ex-commander of the Swiss Guard was in pre-trial remand for months] (in German). 20 Minuten. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
Military offices
Preceded byElmar Mäder Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard
2008–2015 		Succeeded byChristoph Graf


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