Femke Halsema
- Mayor
- 2018-present
- Life
- 1966
- Party
- GroenLinks
The story
Femke Halsema was born in Haarlem on 25 April 1966 and studied at Utrecht University. From 1998 to 2011 she was a member of the Dutch parliament for GroenLinks, a green-left party, and led its parliamentary group from 2002 to 2010. After leaving national politics she worked as a filmmaker, among other things.
A historic choice
On 27 June 2018 the Amsterdam city council nominated her as mayor. In the Netherlands mayors are appointed by the Crown rather than directly elected, on the council's recommendation. On 12 July 2018 she was sworn in by the King's Commissioner Johan Remkes at a special council meeting, taking over from acting mayor Jozias van Aartsen. Halsema became Amsterdam's first female mayor and its first from GroenLinks, ending an unbroken post-war line of permanent mayors from the Labour Party.
What happened on her watch
On 1 July 2021, at the annual Keti Koti ceremony marking the end of slavery, Halsema apologised on behalf of the city government for the active involvement of Amsterdam's city council in the commercial system of colonial slavery. The council had voted the year before to make a formal apology.
Crowds and nuisance in the city centre were a recurring theme. From 2019 she argued for moving a large share of the Red Light District's windows to a new 'erotic centre' elsewhere, and she wanted to limit cannabis coffee shops to Dutch residents only. Both plans sparked lively debate. In June 2026 the new city coalition of PRO and D66 dropped the idea of a single large erotic centre, saying it would look at several smaller locations to reduce the number of windows in the Red Light District instead.
In 2024 tensions rose in Amsterdam over the war in Gaza, with occupations of university campuses and riots and violence around a visit by Maccabi Tel Aviv football supporters in November. In early 2025 the trade magazine Binnenlands Bestuur and the research institute Necker named her Best Local Administrator of 2024. In 2025 she was a guest on Zomergasten, a long-form Dutch TV interview show.
A second term
In February 2024 the city council backed her reappointment by a large majority, and on 18 July 2024 she was sworn in for a second six-year term, running to 2030. Asked in 2025 whether she would lead a party into the national election, she replied: 'I belong to Amsterdam and I'm staying with Amsterdam.'
- 01Halsema has been mayor of Amsterdam since 12 July 2018.
- 02She is the city's first female mayor and the first from GroenLinks.
- 03On 1 July 2021 she apologised for the city government's role in colonial slavery.
- 04On 18 July 2024 she was sworn in for a second six-year term.
- 05She led the GroenLinks group in the Dutch parliament from 2002 to 2010.
Sources (10)
- Wikiwand, Femke Halsema
- NLTimes, New Amsterdam mayor sworn today
- Rodi, Tweede termijn burgemeester Femke Halsema officieel
- Welingelichte Kringen, Halsema beëdigd voor tweede termijn
- DutchNews, Amsterdam mayor apologises for slavery past
- NH Nieuws, Burgemeester Halsema is beste lokale bestuurder van 2024
- NH Nieuws, Weinig teleurstelling over schrappen erotisch centrum (juni 2026)
- NH Nieuws/AT5, Ondernemers Wallen over coffeeshopverbod (maart 2026)
- Hart van Nederland, Halsema geen lijsttrekker GroenLinks-PvdA
- Gemeenteblad 2026, nr. 111308 (ondertekend door burgemeester Halsema)
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