“I’ll relieve the tension right away: Robert van Rijn is the new mayor of Laren,” Karel Loeff said just after 8 p.m. in the council chamber in Eemnes, the place where Laren politicians meet.
In Van Rijn, Laren has found the figurehead that the municipality was looking for, according to the profile. In the former councilor of Aalsmeer, Laren believes he has found “an administratively sensitive, amiable, humorous and authentic mayor”.
A lot of sense
Van Rijn had already been called and after the announcement he walked into the room to loud applause from the council and audience. He spoke briefly: “I want to express my gratitude and express my joy. I am really looking forward to making it a success with you and also having fun,” were his first words.
“During the conversations with the confidential committee, I felt a lot of warmth and commitment. It remains to be seen whether the municipality of Laren also feels the same way. I am very grateful that it does,” says the current director of a vocational college in Amsterdam.
There was quite a bit of enthusiasm for the mayoral post of Laren. A total of 34 people took the time to send an application letter. In the past period, the Laren confidential committee has held discussions with a number of them.
Two suitable candidates
After this selection round, two candidates remained. Tonight, the council determined in a closed meeting that … is the most suitable successor to Nanning Mole, who left for Dordrecht in June as the new mayor.
Joan de Bloch-Zwart has been ‘looking after the shop’ since the beginning of June acting mayor. She will continue to do so until the new mayor is sworn in.
For the time being, Van Rijn is the candidate mayor. Laren now officially presents him to the Minister of the Interior. This is almost always a formality. Van Rijn is expected to be sworn in on Monday, February 16. King’s Commissioner Arthur van Dijk will do that job.