ENSCHEDE – Roelof Bleker (54) will be the new mayor of Enschede. Bleker was nominated by the city council after hours of closed debate. Bleker is currently chairman of the Executive Board of the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Utrecht. He was previously an alderman in Enschede.
The Enschede municipal council was presented with two mayoral candidates by the confidential committee on Monday evening. The choice fell on Roelof Bleker, who was a member of the PvdA for many years, but is now without a party. The name of the rejected applicant has not been disclosed. A total of sixteen interested parties responded to the vacancy Enschede, fifteen men and one woman.
Bleker is currently chairman of the Executive Board of the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU). With 4000 students, the HKU is the largest art academy in Europe. Between 2010 and 2018, Roelof Bleker was the dike chief of the Rivierenland water board, a large water board with 1 million inhabitants.
Alderman during reconstruction of Roombeek
Between 2001 and 2010 he was alderman of the municipality of Enschede, with the urban development and culture portfolio. Under his leadership, the reconstruction of Roombeek was completed, among other things. He was also active as committee chair and board member at the VNG. Bleker was a member of the city council of Enschede from 1994 to 2001. Roelof Bleker graduated as a technical business administrator at the UT.
Appointed in February
The nomination of the new mayor must be ratified by the Council of Ministers before Christmas, after which the appointment by the Crown will follow. Bleker is expected to be installed in February 2022. When drawing up the profile, Enschede’s aim was to be able to appoint a definitive mayor before the municipal elections of 16 March.
Difficult choice
The new mayor was elected after a difficult, closed meeting. Already at 7.30 pm 38 councilors (one councilor was absent) gathered for a closed meeting. There they were presented with two candidates. But the choice was so difficult that the councilors took hours to find a solution together.
They voted a maximum of two times. If there is a tie after the first round of voting, a new vote is taken. If that round also yielded the same number of votes for both candidates, fate ultimately decides. But we will never know how it turned out, all those present have promised secrecy.
Successor of Onno van Veldhuizen
Bleker is the successor of Onno van Veldhuizen. He took office in October 2015, but indicated in May that he did not aspire to a second term as mayor. Van Veldhuizen no longer wanted to work ‘so mercilessly’ in full public view and now works as a councilor of state at the Council of State. Theo Bovens, former governor of Limburg, is currently acting mayor of Enschede.
The council of Enschede met for the closed meeting on Monday evening in the Municipal Lyceum Het Kottenpark. The school building was chosen because the council chamber and other rooms in the town hall are currently not suitable for physical meetings due to the corona restrictions.
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