Government of Amsterdam

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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.

Contents

The municipality of Amsterdam borders the municipalities of Diemen, De Ronde Venen, Ouder-Amstel, Amstelveen, Stichtse Vecht, Wijdemeren and Hilversum in the south, Haarlemmermeer in the west, and Zaanstad, Oostzaan, Landsmeer and Waterland in the north.

Weesp has been an urban area of the municipality of Amsterdam since 24 March 2022. [1]

Municipal government

Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam since 2018. Burgemeester halsema2 231118.jpg
Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam since 2018.
Amsterdam City Council

Gemeenteraad van Amsterdam
Logo of Gemeente Amsterdam.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Chairperson
Structure
Seats45
2022 Amsterdam municipal election - composition chart.svg
Political groups
Government (24) [2]
  •   PvdA (9)
  •   GL (8)
  •   D66 (7)

Opposition (21)

Elections
Last election
2022
Next election
2026
Meeting place
Amsterdam - Stopera (30213475601).jpg
Amsterdam City Hall, located at Amstel 1 ( Stopera building)
Website
https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/governance/city-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. [3] 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. [4] 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. [5] 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. [6]

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 three 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 Cohen mayor
Safety & Internal Affairs		PvdA
Lodewijk Asscher vice-mayor
Finance & Economy		PvdA
Freek Ossel [7] Education & IncomePvdA
Carolien Gehrels Culture & RecreationPvdA
Hans Gerson [8] Transport & HousingPvdA
Maarten van Poelgeest Spatial PlanningGL
Marijke Vos Environment & HealthGL
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2002
Labour Party 20Increase2.svg 5
VVD 8Decrease2.svg 1
GreenLeft 7Increase2.svg 1
Socialist Party 6Increase2.svg 2
Christian Democratic Appeal 2Decrease2.svg 2
Democrats 66 2Decrease2.svg 1
AA/De Groenen 0Decrease2.svg 1
Mokum Mobiel 0Decrease2.svg 1
Total45-

Municipal Government 2010–2014

Dutch municipal elections, 2010:

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Eberhard van der Laan mayor
Safety & Internal Affairs		PvdA
Pieter Hilhorst [9] vice-mayor
Finance & Education		PvdA
Freek Ossel HousingPvdA
Carolien Gehrels Economy & CulturePvdA
Eric van der Burg Health & Schiphol VVD
Eric Wiebes TransportVVD
Maarten van Poelgeest Spatial PlanningGL
Andrée van Es IncomeGL
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2006
Labour Party 15Decrease2.svg 5
VVD 8Steady2.svg 0
GreenLeft 7Steady2.svg 0
Democrats 66 7Increase2.svg 5
Socialist Party 3Decrease2.svg 3
Christian Democratic Appeal 2Steady2.svg 0
Save Amsterdam 1Increase2.svg 1
Proud of the Netherlands 1Increase2.svg 1
Party for the Animals 1Increase2.svg 1
Total45-

Municipal Government 2014–2018

Dutch municipal elections, 2014:

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Eberhard van der Laan mayor
Safety, Internal Affairs & Finance		PvdA
Kajsa Ollongren vice-mayor
Amsterdam-Centrum, Economy, Port, Schiphol & Culture		D66
Udo Kock Amsterdam-West, Finance & Water Resource ManagementD66
Simone Kukenheim Amsterdam-Oost, Education & IntegrationD66
Abdeluheb Choho Public Space, Climate & ICTD66
Eric van der Burg Amsterdam-Zuid, Health, Sport & Spatial PlanningVVD
Pieter Litjens Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Transport & Real EstateVVD
Laurens Ivens Amsterdam-Noord, Housing & Animal WelfareSP
Arjan Vliegenthart Amsterdam Nieuw-West, Labour, Income & PovertySP
Municipal Council
Partyseatschange
from
2010
Democrats 66 14Increase2.svg 7
Labour Party 10Decrease2.svg 5
VVD 6Decrease2.svg 2
GreenLeft 6Decrease2.svg 1
Socialist Party 6Increase2.svg 3
Christian Democratic Appeal 1Decrease2.svg 1
Party for the Animals 1Steady2.svg 0
Party for the Senior Citizens 1Increase2.svg 1
Save Amsterdam 0Decrease2.svg 1
Proud of the Netherlands 0Decrease2.svg 1
Total45-

Municipal Government 2018–2022

Dutch municipal elections, 2018:

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Femke Halsema Mayor of Amsterdam
General Affairs, Safety, Legal Affairs, & Communications		GL
Marieke van Doorninck Spatial Development, & SustainabilityGL
Rutger Groot Wassink Social Affairs, Democratization, & DiversityGL
Touria Meliani Arts and Culture, & Digital CityGL
Sharon Dijksma Traffic and Transport, Water, & Air qualityPvdA
Marjolein Moorman Education, Poverty, & Civic IntegrationPvdA
Udo Kock Finance, Economic Affairs, & ZuidasD66
Simone Kukenheim Care, Youth, Education and Training, & SportD66
Laurens Ivens Housing, Construction, & Public SpaceSP
2018 Amsterdam municipal election - composition chart.svg
PartyVotes%+/−Seats+/−
GreenLeft GL70,88020.4+9.610+4
Democrats 66 D6655,72416.1−10.78−6
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy VVD39,70211.4+0.26+0
Labour Party PvdA37,18110.7−7.75−5
Socialist Party SP26,0707.5−3.73−3
Party for the Animals PvdD24,6727.1+4.33+2
Denk DENK23,1386.7New3New
Forum for Democracy FvD20,0155.8New3New
Christian Democratic Appeal CDA11,9913.5+0.71+0
Party for the Elderly PvdO7,7522.2+0.11+0
Christian Union CU6,8372.0+0.21+1
Amsterdam Bij1 BIJ16,5711.9New1New
Pirate Party Amsterdam PPNL4,4591.3−0.50+0
50PLUS 50+4,2331.2New0New
Other7,9232.30
Total valid votes347,14810045
Invalid/blank votes4,5111.3
Total & turnout351,65951.2+1.9
Source: Verkiezingsuitslagen [10]

Municipal Government 2022–present

Municipal Executives
NamePortfolioParty
Femke Halsema Mayor of Amsterdam
General Affairs, Safety, Legal Affairs, & Communications		GL
Marjolein Moorman Education, Poverty, Civic Integration, Masterplan ZuidoostPvdA
Sofyan Mbarki Economic Affairs, Sport & Recreation, MBO Agenda, Vocational Education & Labour Market Integration, Youth Work, Inner City AffairsPvdA
Hester van Buren Finance, Personnel & Organisation, Coordination of operations, Services, Air and Sea Port, Coordination of purchasingPvdA
Rutger Groot Wassink Social Affairs, Shelter, Municipal Holdings, Democratization, Development Plan Nieuw-WestGL
Zita Pels Sustainability & Circular Economy, Public HousingGL
Touria Meliani Arts and Culture, Monuments & Heritage, Events, Inclusion and Antidiscrimination policyGL
Reinier van Dantzig Housing construction, Land & Development, Spatial PlanningD66
Melanie van der Horst Traffic, transport & air quality, Public Space & Green, Water, Development Plan Amsterdam-Noord)D66
Shula Rijxman Care & social development, Public Health & Prevention, ICT and Digital City, Local Media, ParticipationsD66


2022 Amsterdam municipal election - composition chart.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Labour Party 57,09317.579+4
GroenLinks 48,09614.808–2
Democrats 66 44,73213.777–1
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 34,18010.525–1
Amsterdam BIJ1 22,6236.963+2
Party for the Animals 22,0316.7830
Volt 14,0434.322New
Socialist Party 14,0364.322–1
JA21 13,6914.212New
DENK 13,0394.012–1
Christian Democratic Appeal 8,2702.5510
Forum for Democracy 6,6882.061–2
Other parties26,3478.110–2
Total324,869100.0045–
Valid votes324,86999.11
Invalid/blank votes2,9240.89
Total votes327,793100.00
Registered voters/turnout703,71446.58
Source: Kiesraad [11]

Mayors

Boroughs & urban area

The 7 boroughs of Amsterdam since May 1, 2010, plus Westpoort, which is directly governed by the municipality Amsterdamse stadsdelen 2010.png
The 7 boroughs of Amsterdam since May 1, 2010, plus Westpoort, which is directly governed by the municipality
NameDesignationAreas
Centrum
(Centre)
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 Binnenstad, Grachtengordel with Jordaan, Plantage, Westelijke Eilanden and Oostelijke Eilanden
Nieuw-West
(New West)
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 Slotermeer, Geuzenveld, Slotervaart, Overtoomse Veld, Nieuw Sloten, Osdorp, De Aker and the villages Sloten and Oud-Osdorp
Noord
(North)
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 Tuindorp Oostzaan, Kadoelen, Oostzanerwerf, Buiksloot, Buikslotermeer, Nieuwendam and Landelijk Noord, with the villages Schellingwoude, Durgerdam, Zunderdorp, Ransdorp, Holysloot
Oost
(East)
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 Weesperzijde, Oosterparkbuurt, Dapperbuurt, Transvaalbuurt, Oostpoort, Watergraafsmeer, Indische Buurt, Oostelijk Havengebied, the Zeeburgereiland and IJburg
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 Spaarndammerbuurt, Staatsliedenbuurt, Frederik Hendrikbuurt, Kinkerbuurt and surrounding Overtoom, Admiralenbuurt, surrounding Hoofdweg, Mercatorplein, Landlust, Bos en Lommer and the village Sloterdijk
Zuid
(South)
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 De Pijp, Museumkwartier, Willemspark, Schinkelbuurt, Hoofddorppleinbuurt, Stadionbuurt, Apollobuurt, Rivierenbuurt, Prinses Irenebuurt, Zuidas and Buitenveldert
Zuidoost
(Southeast)
Stadsdeel
(Borough)
 Venserpolder, Bijlmer, Gaasperdam and Bullewijk
Stadsgebied
(Urban area)
the city Weesp and the village Driemond

Unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into 7 boroughs (stadsdelen or 'districts') and 1 urban area (stadsgebied) Weesp. [12] This system 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').

On 24 March 2022, the city of Weesp merged with Amsterdam. [1] Thus Weesp became an urban area of the municipality of Amsterdam. [1] Westpoort covers the western harbour area of Amsterdam. This is not a borough, because it has very few inhabitants and it is governed directly by the central municipal council.

Population centers

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

International cooperation

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Wet van 9 juni 2021 tot herindeling van de gemeenten Amsterdam en Weesp". www.officielebekendmakingen.nl/ (in Dutch). 23 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  2. ↑ "The College of Mayor and Alderpersons".
  3. ↑ "City Council & college of Alderpersons". Iamsterdam.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  4. ↑ "Eberhard van der Laan to be Amsterdam's new mayor". DutchNews.nl. June 24, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Britt Slegers (Jun 12, 2014). "Three-party coalition in Amsterdam". NL Times. Retrieved Aug 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ "College van burgemeester en wethouders" (in Dutch). City of Amsterdam. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  7. ↑ Replaced Hennah Buyne  [ nl ] since March/April 2008. Buyne replaced Ahmed Aboutaleb since March 14, 2007.
  8. ↑ Replaced Tjeerd Herrema  [ nl ] since April 1, 2009.
  9. ↑ Replaced Lodewijk Asscher since November 28, 2012.
  10. ↑ https://www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl/verkiezingen/detail/GR20180321/671663
  11. ↑ https://www.verkiezingsuitslagen.nl/verkiezingen/detail/GR20220316/709041
  12. ↑ "Stadsdelen". Gemeente Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Bureau Internationale Betrekkingen". www.amsterdam.nl. Bureau Internationale Betrekkingen, City of Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2007-04-05.

52°22′N4°53′E / 52.367°N 4.883°E / 52.367; 4.883

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