D66 member Fleur Gräper will be the new mayor of Tilburg. This was announced on Thursday evening. “I think it is an enormous honor to become mayor of Tilburg,” she says in an initial response. “I’ve been there a number of times this summer and the city has really grown on me. I’ll probably be heading there quite soon to look for a place to live.”
Gräper was (outgoing) State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in 2024. Before that, she was deputy for the province of Groningen for eight years and in that role was, among other things, vice-chairman of the IPO (Interprovincial Consultation). She was previously general secretary for the Social-Economic Council of the Northern Netherlands.
In addition, Gräper now holds a number of additional positions, including as chairman of the national program committee of D66. Gräper studied history at the University of Groningen. She is married, 50 years old and the mother of two student children.
She currently lives in the municipality of Groningen. After her installation she will move to the municipality of Tilburg.
New mayor
A total of seventeen people were in the running for the position, nine men and eight women. Theo Weterings’ successor was actually going to be announced on October 30. The announcement was brought forward after the name of one of the applicants was announced on Thursday by the Brabants Dagblad. After emergency consultation, it was decided to make the announcement on Thursday evening.
Chairman of the confidential committee Henk van Tilborg said at the announcement on Thursday evening that he finds it “extremely painful and unacceptable” that the leak has occurred.
Esmah Lahlah
That leaked candidate turned out to be Esmah Lahlah. After the leak, she officially confirmed that she had put herself forward as a candidate for mayor of Tilburg. While she is in second place on the GroenLinks-PvdA candidate list.
Before Thursday evening’s announcement, it became clear that Lahlah will not be the new mayor of Tilburg. She stays in The Hague.
Declaration
The province and the municipality of Tilburg will report the matter after the leak surrounding the appointment of the new mayor. “Leaking from the procedure surrounding the appointment of a mayor is punishable,” says Ina Adema, the King’s Commissioner. “It is a violation of official secrecy and therefore a crime.”
The new mayor of Tilburg will be sworn in on January 21 in the Tilburg City Hall. Until then, Onno Hoes is acting mayor.