Dutch mayors are mainly white, middle-aged men

Most of the Netherlands’ 390 mayors are white, middle-aged men who are members of the Christian Democratic party, right-wing VVD or Labour party, the NRC says on Tuesday.

Just one in five is female and there are only four mayors with an ethnic minority background, the paper says, quoting research by the Dutch mayors’ association NGB.

‘We just have not managed to make our mayors more diverse,’ the NGB said. Mayors in the Netherlands are non-elected crown appointees and usually serve for a maximum of two six-year periods.

Referendum

Some towns and cities have introduced advisory mayoral referendums, in which locals can state which of two candidates they prefer.

Of the 38 mayors appointed last year, 12 were from the Labour party, 10 from the VVD and 10 from the CDA – seen as the Netherlands’ traditional ruling parties.