Harm Haijo Apotheker (born 5 June 1950,

Loppersum Loppersum () is a village and former municipality in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Geography Loppersum is located in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. The former municipality was bord ...

) is a Dutch

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

for the

Democraten 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democ ...

party. He was mayor of several Dutch townships, including

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

. From 1998 to 1999 Apotheker was

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in the

Second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the soc ...

, but he couldn't find his way in the national political arena. He resigned in 1999 and returned to his familiar position as mayor in various townships. Apotheker became

acting mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). Th ...

in 2010, which went up in the new township of

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( fy, Súdwest-Fryslân ) is a municipality in the Northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 84,092 in August 2017. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Sú ...

in 2011. As mayor of that township, he blindly signed a forged multimillion-euro contract for a residential construction project in Sneek. This caused the township to pay 7 million euro more than expected."Burgemeester Sneek tekende blindelings vals contract", de Volkskrant, 28 augustus 2013
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References

1950 births Living people 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians Aldermen in Groningen (province) Democrats 66 politicians Dutch sociologists Mayors of Leeuwarden Mayors in Friesland People from Noardeast-Fryslân People from Sneek Mayors in Overijssel People from Steenwijkerland People from Súdwest-Fryslân Mayors in Groningen (province) People from Veendam People from Waadhoeke Ministers of Agriculture of the Netherlands Municipal councillors in Groningen (province) People from Loppersum Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands University of Groningen alumni {{Netherlands-mayor-stub