"You can still always call on me," retiring Rotterdam mayor Aboutaleb says at farewell

Rotterdam held a farewell party for mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb in De Doelen on Thursday. He was appointed Commander in the Order of Oranje-Naussau for his “unwavering commitment to the city.”

“You can still always call on me,” Aboutaleb told his fellow Rotterdam residents, Rijnmond reports. “But now it is as was written on the zoute drop that I received yesterday: Get lost!”

King’s Commissioner Wouter Kolff appointed Aboutaleb as Commander in the Order of Oranje-Naussau - the third degree in the order. The soon-to-be-former mayor also received the Groot Anker award from the director of the Port of Rotterdam Authority for his commitment to the port of Rotterdam. Aboutaleb is only the ninth person to receive the award in 20 years.

The event in De Doelen was only open to invited guests and had a full program of art and culture from the city.

Aboutaleb will be saying goodbye to Rotterdam in the coming weeks. He will take off the mayoral chain on October 1.