Government of Amsterdam

The Government of Amsterdam consists of several territorial and functional forms of local and regional government. The principal form of government is the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The municipality's territory covers the city of Amsterdam as well as a number of small towns. The city of Amsterdam is also part of several functional forms of regional government. These include the Waterschap (water board) of Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, which is responsible for water management, and the Stadsregio (City Region) of Amsterdam, which has responsibilities in the areas of spatial planning and public transport.

The municipality of Amsterdam borders the municipalities of Diemen, Weesp, Abcoude, Ouder-Amstel and Amstelveen in the south, Haarlemmermeer and Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude in the west, and Zaanstad, Oostzaan, Landsmeer and Waterland in the north.

Municipal government
Eberhard van der Laan, mayor of Amsterdam from 2010 until his death in October 2017. Photograph taken in the plenary room of the Amsterdam municipal council.

The city of Amsterdam is a municipality under the Dutch Municipalities Act. It is governed by a municipal council (gemeenteraad, also known as 'city council', the principal legislative authority), a municipal executive board (college van burgemeester en wethouders), and a mayor (burgemeester). The mayor is both a member of the municipal executive board and an individual authority with a number of statutory responsibilities, mainly in the area of maintaining public order. The municipal council has 45 seats. Its members are elected for a four-year term through citywide elections on the basis of proportional representation.[1] Under the Municipalities Act, the mayor is appointed for a six-year term by the national government upon nomination by the municipal council. The other members of the executive board (wethouders, or 'alderpersons') are appointed directly by the municipal council, but may be dismissed at any time after a no-confidence vote in the council. Because of this parliamentary system, the alderpersons are not appointed until a governing majority in the council has reached a coalition agreement following council elections.

In July 2010, Eberhard van der Laan (Labour Party) was appointed mayor of Amsterdam by the national government for a six-year term after being nominated by the Amsterdam municipal council.[2] After the 2014 municipal council elections, a governing majority of D66, VVD and SP was formed - the first coalition without the Labour Party since World War II.[3] Next to the mayor, the municipal executive board consists of eight wethouders ('alderpersons') appointed by the municipal council: four D66 alderpersons, two VVD alderpersons and two SP alderpersons.[4]

Municipal Government 2006-2010

After the 2006 municipal elections a coalition was formed between PvdA and GroenLinks, with a majority of 27 out of 45. These elections saw a political landslide throughout the country, with a strong shift to the left, of which Amsterdam was a prime example. The much talked about all-left-wing coalition of PvdA, GroenLinks and SP that polls indicate would become possible after the national elections of 2006 and that was such a political success in Nijmegen had its largest majority in Amsterdam, apart from some small towns. PvdA even needed only 3 more seats to form a coalition and could thus take its pick, which forced potential coalition partners to give in on a lot of issues. In the case of GroenLinks, this was mostly the policy of preventive searching by the police, which they were opposed to but had to allow.

In total, 24 parties took part in the elections, including 11 new ones, but only 7 got seats.

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Job Cohenmayor
Safety & Internal Affairs		PvdA
Lodewijk Asschervice-mayor
Finance & Economy		PvdA
Freek Ossel [5]Education & IncomePvdA
Carolien GehrelsCulture & RecreationPvdA
Hans Gerson [6]Transport & HousingPvdA
Maarten van PoelgeestSpatial PlanningGL
Marijke VosEnvironment & HealthGL
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2002
Labour Party20 5
VVD8 1
GreenLeft7 1
Socialist Party6 2
Christian Democratic Appeal2 2
Democrats 662 1
AA/De Groenen0 1
Mokum Mobiel0 1
Total45-

Municipal Government 2010-2014

Dutch municipal elections, 2010:

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Eberhard van der Laanmayor
Safety & Internal Affairs		PvdA
Pieter Hilhorst [7]vice-mayor
Finance & Education		PvdA
Freek OsselHousingPvdA
Carolien GehrelsEconomy & CulturePvdA
Eric van der BurgHealth & SchipholVVD
Eric WiebesTransportVVD
Maarten van PoelgeestSpatial PlanningGL
Andrée van EsIncomeGL
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2006
Labour Party15 5
VVD8 0
GreenLeft7 0
Democrats 667 5
Socialist Party3 3
Christian Democratic Appeal2 0
Save Amsterdam1 1
Proud of the Netherlands1 1
Party for the Animals1 1
Total45-

Municipal Government 2014-2018

Dutch municipal elections, 2014:

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Eberhard van der Laanmayor
Safety, Internal Affairs & Finance		PvdA
Kajsa Ollongrenvice-mayor
Amsterdam-Centrum, Economy, Port, Schiphol & Culture		D66
Udo KockAmsterdam-West, Finance & Water Resource ManagementD66
Simone KukenheimAmsterdam-Oost, Education & IntegrationD66
Abdeluheb ChohoPublic Space, Climate & ICTD66
Eric van der BurgAmsterdam-Zuid, Health, Sport & Spatial PlanningVVD
Pieter LitjensAmsterdam-Zuidoost, Transport & Real EstateVVD
Laurens IvensAmsterdam-Noord, Housing & Animal WelfareSP
Arjan VliegenthartAmsterdam Nieuw-West, Labour, Income & PovertySP
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2010
Democrats 6614 7
Labour Party10 5
VVD6 2
GreenLeft6 1
Socialist Party6 3
Christian Democratic Appeal1 1
Party for the Animals1 0
Party for the Senior Citizens1 1
Save Amsterdam0 1
Proud of the Netherlands0 1
Total45-

Municipal Government 2018-2022

Dutch municipal elections, 2018:

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Femke HalsemaMayor of Amsterdam
General Affairs, Safety, Legal Affairs, & Communications		GL
Marieke van DoorninckSpatial Development, & SustainabilityGL
Rutger Groot WassinkSocial Affairs, Democratization, & DiversityGL
Touria MelianiArts and Culture, & Digital CityGL
Sharon DijksmaTraffic and Transport, Water, & Air qualityPvdA
Marjolein MoormanEducation, Poverty, & Civic IntegrationPvdA
Udo KockFinance, Economic Affairs, & ZuidasD66
Simone KukenheimCare, Youth, Education and Training, & SportD66
Laurens IvensHousing, Construction, & Public SpaceSP
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2014
GreenLeft10 4
Democrats 668 6
VVD6 0
Labour Party5 5
Socialist Party3 3
Party for the Animals3 2
Denk3 3
Forum for Democracy3 3
Christian Democratic Appeal1 0
Party for the Elderly1 0
Christian Union1 1
Amsterdam Bij11 1
Total45-

Boroughs
Main article: Boroughs of Amsterdam
Eight boroughs of Amsterdam.

Unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into eight boroughs (stadsdelen or 'districts'), a system that was implemented in the 1980s and significantly reformed in 2014. Before 2014, the boroughs were responsible for many activities that previously had been run by the central city. The idea was to bring the government closer to the people. All of these had their own district council (deelraad), chosen by a popular election. Local decisions were made at borough level, and only affairs pertaining the whole city (like major infrastructural projects), were delegated to the central city council. As of 2014, the powers of the boroughs have been significantly reduced, although they still have an elected council called bestuurscommissie ('district committee').

The boroughs are:

The eighth, Westpoort, covers the western harbour area of Amsterdam. Because it has very few inhabitants it is governed by the central municipal council.

Mayors

The mayor of Amsterdam is the head of the city council. The current mayor-designate is Femke Halsema. The mayors since World War II are:

See also: List of mayors of Amsterdam.

Population centers

Amsterdam, Driemond, Durgerdam, Holysloot, 't Nopeind, Osdorp, Ransdorp, Sloten, Sloterdijk, Zunderdorp.

International cooperation
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References
  1. "City Council & college of Alderpersons". Iamsterdam.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  2. "Eberhard van der Laan to be Amsterdam's new mayor". DutchNews.nl. June 24, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. Britt Slegers (Jun 12, 2014). "Three-party coalition in Amsterdam". NL Times. Retrieved Aug 13, 2014.
  4. "College van burgemeester en wethouders" (in Dutch). City of Amsterdam. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  5. Replaced Hennah Buyne since March/April 2008. Buyne replaced Ahmed Aboutaleb since March 14, 2007.
  6. Replaced Tjeerd Herrema since April 1, 2009.
  7. Replaced Lodewijk Asscher since November 28, 2012.
  8. "Bureau Internationale Betrekkingen". www.amsterdam.nl. Bureau Internationale Betrekkingen, City of Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2007-04-05.

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