Jan van Zanen will receive a second six-year term as mayor of The Hague. The city council approved his reappointment in a meeting behind closed doors on Monday evening.
“The municipal council of The Hague would like to continue with Mr Van Zanen as mayor of The Hague,” councilor for Hart voor Den Haag and chairman of the confidential committee Ralf Sluijs told the ANP news agency. “We are pleased that Mayor Van Zanen, alias ‘Jan from the municipality’, wants to continue to work for our city.”
The current term of the 64-year-old VVD mayor expires on July 1, 2026. The municipal council’s nomination will be sent by the King’s Commissioner Wouter Kolff to outgoing Minister of the Interior Frank Rijkaart. Van Zanen’s reappointment will then be confirmed by Royal Decree.
Motions of no confidence
Van Zanen, who took office in 2020, survived two motions of no confidence in his first term submitted by Hart voor Den Haag, the largest party in the council. Hart voor Den Haag believed that the mayor acted too laxly during the A12 blockades of Extinction Rebellion and was also displeased about the blocking of a referendum on paid parking.
Jan van Zanen was previously party chairman of the VVD and mayor of Amstelveen and Utrecht.
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