Jozias van Aartsen
The former foreign minister and Hague mayor who steered Amsterdam for seven months after Van der Laan's death.
Jozias van Aartsen was born in The Hague on Christmas Day 1947. His father was a politician and cabinet minister for a Protestant party, but Jozias chose the liberal VVD. He worked for its parliamentary group and ran the party's think tank, then built a career at the Interior Ministry, becoming its most senior civil servant in 1985.
In the 'purple' coalition governments of Wim Kok he served as Minister of Agriculture (1994-1998) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1998-2002). He went on to lead the VVD in parliament. From 2008 to 2017 he was mayor of The Hague, where residents rated him highly, and in 2017 he also spent eight months as acting governor of the province of Drenthe. Earlier, on 1 April 2004, a confused woman had driven her car into him and his press officer in The Hague; the press officer was slightly injured.
An outsider for Amsterdam
After Eberhard van der Laan died in October 2017, Amsterdam needed a temporary mayor. The leaders of the council parties wanted someone from outside the city's political arena, with municipal elections due in March 2018. The stand-in also needed experience of running one of the country's four biggest cities and of public order and safety.
The choice fell on Van Aartsen. The province of North Holland announced it on 2 November 2017 and he took office on 4 December 2017. So Amsterdam had a VVD mayor, if only temporarily.
Seven months
Van Aartsen saw his role modestly: doing what needed doing, not pursuing his own agenda. His hardest moment came in January 2018, when 17-year-old Mohammed Bouchikhi was shot dead at a community centre where he was doing an internship. He was most likely not the gunmen's intended target. In his final week as mayor, Van Aartsen visited the family to say goodbye.
On 11 July 2018, his last full working day, King Willem-Alexander paid a working visit to the Kolenkitbuurt in Amsterdam West and briefly thanked him for his work in the city. Van Aartsen said he hoped he was handing over a city 'in good order'. The next day, 12 July 2018, Femke Halsema took over.
- 01Van Aartsen was born on Christmas Day 1947.
- 02He was Dutch Foreign Minister and mayor of The Hague for nine years.
- 03He was acting mayor of Amsterdam from 4 December 2017 to 12 July 2018.
- 04The city council deliberately wanted someone from outside Amsterdam politics.
- 05On his last working day King Willem-Alexander visited the Kolenkitbuurt neighbourhood.