In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of the mayor and the members of the municipal executive (

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

Composition

Mayor

The mayor (, sometimes translated as '

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

') is the chairperson of the municipal executive, and therefore holds the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

in the event of a tie. Their role is comparable to the roles of the Prime Minister in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, the King's Commissioner in the provincial executives, and the lieutenant governor in the executive councils of the

Caribbean Netherlands The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) are the three #Administration, special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonaire, Sint Eustatius ...

. The mayor is appointed by the monarch (''de facto'' by the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

) for a renewable six-year term. Like the aldermen, the mayor has a portfolio, which always includes public order and safety. Most mayors are members of a political party, but they are expected to carry out their tasks in a

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

manner.

Aldermen

The aldermen (also alderwomen or alderpersons; ) are the board members of the municipal executive. Their role is comparable to the roles of the ministers in the cabinet and the deputies in the provincial executives. Other common translations include deputy mayors, vice mayors and portfolio holders, although the former titles may be reserved for aldermen who are empowered to act for the mayor in their absence (). After every municipal election, the aldermen are elected to the municipal executive by the members of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

. Usually, they elect sitting members of the municipal council, but it is also possible to nominate people from outside the council. Unlike aldermen in English-speaking countries, ''wethouders'' cannot simultaneously be members of the municipal council. Therefore, municipal councillors must resign their seats when they are elected into the office of alderman. The municipal council also holds the power to remove an alderman from office by means of a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. The aldermen are assigned portfolios within the municipal executive and, in this capacity, prepare, coordinate, and plan policy and legislation for the council as a whole. They are also charged with the day-to-day government of the municipality and the implementation of legislation. The aldermen report to the municipal council on all aspects of what is happening within their portfolios. The municipal executive functions as a committee that reaches decisions by way of consensus. According to the Municipality Act (''Gemeentewet''), the number of aldermen cannot exceed 20% of the number of members of the municipal council, but there must be at least two. In Dutch municipalities with 18,000 inhabitants or less, the office of alderman is a part-time position. In larger municipalities, the office is a full-time position, but the municipal council may opt to designate one or more portfolios as part-time positions, in which case the maximum number of aldermen is 25% of the number of municipal councillors.

Municipal secretary

The municipal secretary (), who is chosen by the municipal executive, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the municipal executive and assists with administrative matters.

Party politics

Political parties play an active role in municipal politics in the Netherlands. The party with the most members on the municipal council is considered to be in control of the municipal government. Usually, none of the parties wins an absolute majority, so

coalitions A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

have to be formed. Since the council members vote for the members of the municipal executive, the municipal executive is also chosen along party lines. As a result, two different types of municipal executives exist: * A "manifesto-based executive" (''programmacollege'') is elected on the basis of a manifesto by a majority vote of all members of the municipal council. Most municipal executives in the Netherlands are manifesto-based. * A "mirror executive" (''afspiegelingscollege'') is an executive whose composition reflects the distribution of the major parties in the municipal council. For example, if the members of the municipal council are evenly split between three mainstream parties, the members of the executive board will also be evenly split between these three parties.

Alliances

Municipal councillors sometimes form party-based coalitions and vote in blocs to prevent members of opposing political parties from joining the executive board. This means that a party that does well in the municipal election may not be represented in the municipal executive. For example, from 2002 to 2006, the municipal executive of Rotterdam consisted of aldermen from right-wing parties ( CDA,

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...

and Leefbaar Rotterdam), while the Labour Party had been the second largest party in the municipal council. In

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, the left-wing parties (Labour Party, Socialist Party and Groenlinks) kept members of right-wing parties out of the executive, despite a strong performance in the 2006 election.

Notes

References

{{Local government in the Netherlands Government of the Netherlands Dutch political institutions Local government in the Netherlands