He is the Mayor of Kočevje (Slovenia) since 2010, reelected for the third time in 2018. He is also an associate professor at the University of Ljubljana, where he received a PhD in Defence Studies. Vice-president of the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia, he is a member of both the European Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and currently Congress Spokesperson on Climate Change and the Environment.