The Almelo city council nominated Richard Korteland (VVD) as the city’s new mayor on Monday evening. He is currently mayor of Meppel. He has been that way since 2016.
Korteland started his political career in Papendrecht. He was a municipal councilor there between 2005 and 2010. He then served as alderman for six years. On Monday evening he said he was really looking forward to “getting started”. He hopes to “quickly become part of the community in Almelo”.
The province of Overijssel previously said it expected the new mayor to start work in June. The procedure is that a recommendation from the municipal council is sent to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The minister then nominates the candidate for appointment to the king, who then appoints the mayor.
Eight men between 25 and 56 years old
Eight men applied for the mayor’s office, the province of Overijssel said in December last year. The candidates were between 25 and 56 years old.
The previous mayor, Arjen Gerritsen, resigned last year. He started as King’s Commissioner in Flevoland on November 1. Since then, Mirjam van ‘t Veld has been acting mayor.
Korteland succeeded Jan Westmaas in Meppel in 2016, who had held the office since 2005 and then became acting mayor of Noordoostpolder.