With Van Zanen the liberals continue to have Mayors in five European capitals or seat of government.
Van Zanen (VVD), until recently Mayor of the city of Utrecht, was nominated as new Mayor of The Hague. His tenure starts on 1 July 2020, succeeding Johan Remkes (VVD) who has been Acting Mayor.
A former chairman of the VVD (from 2003 to 2008), Van Zanen was Mayor of Amstelveen for eight years, until becoming Mayor of Utrecht in 2013. He became a popular Mayor in Utrecht, and was praised for how he dealt with the shooting on a tram on 18 March 2019.
I’m very honoured to be put forth as next Mayor of The Hague. I’m looking forward to the work I’ll be doing there. Just as in Utrecht, I will focus on my passion: to serve the public
With the appointment of Van Zanen in The Hague, liberals continue to be in charge of five European capitals or seats of government with Luxembourg City, Tallin, Vilnius, Bratislava, as well as three Deputy Mayoral positions in Madrid, Budapest and Stockholm.
Renew Europe CoR manages the Liberal Mayors Network, which holds summits at the ALDE party congress. The last edition to date took place in Athens in 2019, while previous editions yielded the “Principles that make cities liberal” and a call to “Celebrate Europe Day“.
