Jozias van Aartsen appointed interim Amsterdam mayor
Jozias van Aartsen was appointed interim mayor of Amsterdam. The former Hague mayor was appointed by Commissioner of the King Johan Remkes after consultation with the faction leaders in the Amsterdam municipal council. He starts on December 4th, NOS reports.
The 69-year-old VVD politician was Commissioner of the King in Drenthe since April this year. Before that he was mayor in The Hague, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Agriculture. Jetta Klijnsma (PvdA) is taking over from Van Aartsen as the King's commissioner in Drenthe. She was sworn in on Wednesday.
Van Aartsen is taking over in Amsterdam from Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, who passed away last month after a long battle with lung cancer. This is just a temporary post for Van Aartsen until a new mayor is appointed after the municipal elections next year.
Remkes met with the Amsterdam faction leaders several times to discuss the position of interim mayor. According to NOS, the faction leaders indicated that - given the upcoming election - they would prefer someone not from Amsterdam politics, but who does have experience in one of the four large cities in the Netherlands. "I am pleased that Jozias van Aartsen made himself available to serve the board and the residents of the municipality of Amsterdam as acting mayor for the coming period", Remkes said in a statement.
