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, 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. Municipal government 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Government 2010–2014 Dutch municipal elections, 2010: Municipal Government 2014–2018 Dutch municipal elections, 2014: Municipal Government 2018–2022 Dutch municipal elections, 2018: Municipal Government 2022–2026 Municipal Government 2026–present Mayors Boroughs & urban area Unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into 7 boroughs (stadsdelen or 'districts') and 1 urban area (stadsgebied) Weesp. 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. Thus Weesp became an urban area of the municipality of Amsterdam. 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 Notes References External links Official website Publication by the SDU staatscourant Statistics Netherlands, publication on Amsterdam