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 since 2010. 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 city-wide 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 council 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. Amsterdam Anders/De groenen got assigned one seat at first, but lost it after redistibution, which in the Netherlands is done through a system that favours big parties. In 2002 they only just missed out on a second seat in a similar manner.

Municipal council 2010-2014

Dutch municipal elections, 2010:

Municipal council 2014-2018

Dutch municipal elections, 2014:

Boroughs

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:

• Amsterdam-Centrum (English: Centre).
• Amsterdam-Noord
• Amsterdam-Oost
• Amsterdam-Zuid
• Amsterdam-West
• Amsterdam-Zuidoost
• Amsterdam Nieuw-West

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 Eberhard van der Laan (PvdA). The mayors since the World War II are:

• Feike de Boer (1945–1946)
• Arnold Jan d'Ailly (1946–1956)
• Gijs van Hall (1956–1967)
• Ivo Samkalden (1967–1977)
• Wim Polak (1977–1983)
• Ed van Thijn (1983–1994)
• Schelto Patijn (1994–2001)
• Job Cohen (2001–2010)
• Eberhard van der Laan (2010–present)

See also: List of mayors of Amsterdam.

Population centers

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

International cooperation

References

External links

• Website of Gemeente Amsterdam
• Publication by the SDU staatscourant
• (pdf) - Statistics Netherlands publication on Amsterdam

Amsterdam-related topics
History Timeline Canals Parks Squares Expansion Government People Mayors Tourist attractions Museums Songs Transport Metro Railway stations Trams Cycling Walls Coat of arms Flag
Boroughs Centrum Nieuw-West Noord Oost West Westpoort Zuid Zuidoost
See also: Category:Amsterdam

Municipalities of North Holland
Aalsmeer Alkmaar Amstelveen Amsterdam Beemster Bergen Beverwijk Blaricum Bloemendaal Castricum Den Helder Diemen Drechterland Edam-Volendam Enkhuizen Gooise Meren Haarlem Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude Haarlemmermeer Heemskerk Heemstede Heerhugowaard Heiloo Hilversum Hollands Kroon Hoorn Huizen Koggenland Landsmeer Langedijk Laren Medemblik Oostzaan Opmeer Ouder-Amstel Purmerend Schagen Stede Broec Texel Uitgeest Uithoorn Velsen Waterland Weesp Wijdemeren Wormerland Zaanstad Zandvoort
See also Netherlands Provinces Municipalities

Coordinates: 52°22′N 4°53′E / 52.367°N 4.883°E / 52.367; 4.883