The municipality of Meppel has to look for a new mayor. Richard Korteland (VVD) is leaving for the municipality of Almelo. He will start his new job in June.
The 44-year-old Korteland succeeds Arjen Gerritsen, who left last year, in Overijssel, who previously became King’s Commissioner in Flevoland. With over 70,000 inhabitants, Almelo is the fifth largest city in Overijssel, after Enschede, Zwolle, Deventer and Hengelo.
Korteland was reappointed for another six years by the Meppel municipal council in September 2022. Before he started working in Meppel, he was an alderman in the municipality of Papendrecht.
The vacancy in Almelo attracted eight applicants. The youngest applicant was 25 years old and none of them were women. King’s Commissioner Andries Heidema conducted the job interviews with the candidate mayors. He recently indicated that he was surprised by the number of applicants.