The Government of Amsterdam consists of several territorial and functional forms of local and regional government. The principal form of government is the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The municipality's territory covers the city of Amsterdam as well as a number of small towns. The city of Amsterdam is also part of several functional forms of regional government. These include the Waterschap (water board) of Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, which is responsible for water management, and the Stadsregio (City Region) of Amsterdam, which has responsibilities in the areas of spatial planning and public transport.
The municipality of Amsterdam borders the municipalities of Diemen, De Ronde Venen, Ouder-Amstel, Amstelveen, Stichtse Vecht, Wijdemeren and Hilversum in the south, Haarlemmermeer in the west, and Zaanstad, Oostzaan, Landsmeer and Waterland in the north.
Weesp has been an urban area of the municipality of Amsterdam since 24 March 2022.
Municipal government
The city of Amsterdam is a municipality under the Dutch Municipalities Act. It is governed by a municipal council (gemeenteraad, also known as 'city council', the principal legislative authority), a municipal executive board (college van burgemeester en wethouders), and a mayor (burgemeester). The mayor is both a member of the municipal executive board and an individual authority with a number of statutory responsibilities, mainly in the area of maintaining public order. The municipal council has 45 seats. Its members are elected for a four-year term through citywide elections on the basis of proportional representation. Under the Municipalities Act, the mayor is appointed for a six-year term by the national government upon nomination by the municipal council. The other members of the executive board (wethouders, or 'alderpersons') are appointed directly by the municipal council, but may be dismissed at any time after a no-confidence vote in the council. Because of this parliamentary system, the alderpersons are not appointed until a governing majority in the council has reached a coalition agreement following council elections.
In July 2010, Eberhard van der Laan (Labour Party) was appointed mayor of Amsterdam by the national government for a six-year term after being nominated by the Amsterdam municipal council. After the 2014 municipal council elections, a governing majority of D66, VVD and SP was formed - the first coalition without the Labour Party since World War II. Next to the mayor, the municipal executive board consists of eight wethouders ('alderpersons') appointed by the municipal council: four D66 alderpersons, two VVD alderpersons and two SP alderpersons.
Municipal Government 2006–2010 After the 2006 municipal elections a coalition was formed between PvdA and GroenLinks, with a majority of 27 out of 45. These elections saw a political landslide throughout the country, with a strong shift to the left, of which Amsterdam was a prime example. The much talked about all-left-wing coalition of PvdA, GroenLinks and SP that polls indicate would become possible after the national elections of 2006 and that was such a political success in Nijmegen had its largest majority in Amsterdam, apart from some small towns. PvdA even needed only three more seats to form a coalition and could thus take its pick, which forced potential coalition partners to give in on a lot of issues. In the case of GroenLinks, this was mostly the policy of preventive searching by the police, which they were opposed to but had to allow.
In total, 24 parties took part in the elections, including 11 new ones, but only 7 got seats.
+ Municipal ExecutivesNamePortfolio PartyJob CohenmayorSafety & Internal AffairsPvdALodewijk Asschervice-mayorFinance & EconomyPvdAFreek OsselReplaced since March/April 2008. Buyne replaced Ahmed Aboutaleb since March 14, 2007.Education & IncomePvdACarolien GehrelsCulture & RecreationPvdAHans GersonReplaced since April 1, 2009.Transport & HousingPvdAMaarten van PoelgeestSpatial PlanningGLMarijke VosEnvironment & HealthGL
+ Municipal CouncilPartyseatschangefrom2002 Labour Party20 5 VVD8 1 GreenLeft7 1 Socialist Party6 2 Christian Democratic Appeal2 2 Democrats 662 1 AA/De Groenen0 1 Mokum Mobiel0 1 Total45-
Municipal Government 2010–2014 Dutch municipal elections, 2010:
+ Municipal ExecutivesNamePortfolio PartyEberhard van der LaanmayorSafety & Internal AffairsPvdAPieter HilhorstReplaced Lodewijk Asscher since November 28, 2012.vice-mayorFinance & EducationPvdAFreek OsselHousingPvdACarolien GehrelsEconomy & CulturePvdAEric van der BurgHealth & SchipholVVDEric WiebesTransportVVDMaarten van PoelgeestSpatial PlanningGLAndrée van EsIncomeGL
+ Municipal CouncilPartyseatschangefrom2006 Labour Party15 5 VVD8 0 GreenLeft7 0 Democrats 667 5 Socialist Party3 3 Christian Democratic Appeal2 0 Save Amsterdam1 1 Proud of the Netherlands1 1 Party for the Animals1 1 Total45-
Municipal Government 2014–2018
Dutch municipal elections, 2014:
+ Municipal ExecutivesNamePortfolio PartyEberhard van der Laan mayorSafety, Internal Affairs & Finance PvdAKajsa Ollongren vice-mayorAmsterdam-Centrum, Economy, Port, Schiphol & Culture D66Udo Kock Amsterdam-West, Finance & Water Resource Management D66Simone Kukenheim Amsterdam-Oost, Education & Integration D66Abdeluheb Choho Public Space, Climate & ICT D66Eric van der Burg Amsterdam-Zuid, Health, Sport & Spatial Planning VVDPieter Litjens Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Transport & Real Estate VVDLaurens Ivens Amsterdam-Noord, Housing & Animal Welfare SPArjan Vliegenthart Amsterdam Nieuw-West, Labour, Income & Poverty SP
+ Municipal CouncilPartyseatschangefrom2010 Democrats 6614 7 Labour Party10 5 VVD6 2 GreenLeft6 1 Socialist Party6 3 Christian Democratic Appeal1 1 Party for the Animals1 0 Party for the Senior Citizens1 1 Save Amsterdam0 1 Proud of the Netherlands0 1 Total45-
Municipal Government 2018–2022 Dutch municipal elections, 2018:
+ Municipal ExecutivesNamePortfolio PartyFemke Halsema Mayor of AmsterdamGeneral Affairs, Safety, Legal Affairs, & Communications GLMarieke van Doorninck Spatial Development, & Sustainability GLRutger Groot Wassink Social Affairs, Democratization, & Diversity GLTouria Meliani Arts and Culture, & Digital City GLSharon Dijksma Traffic and Transport, Water, & Air quality PvdAMarjolein Moorman Education, Poverty, & Civic Integration PvdAUdo Kock Finance, Economic Affairs, & Zuidas D66Simone Kukenheim Care, Youth, Education and Training, & Sport D66Laurens Ivens Housing, Construction, & Public Space SP
| colspan="9" | |- ! style="text-align:center;" colspan=3 |Party ! style="text-align:center;"| Votes ! style="text-align:right;" | ! style="text-align:right;" | ! style="text-align:right;" | Seats ! style="text-align:right;" | |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| GreenLeft | | 70,880 | 20.4 | +9.6 | 10 | +4 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Democrats 66 | | 55,724 | 16.1 | −10.7 | 8 | −6 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | | 39,702 | 11.4 | +0.2 | 6 | +0 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Labour Party | | 37,181 | 10.7 | −7.7 | 5 | −5 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Socialist Party | | 26,070 | 7.5 | −3.7 | 3 | −3 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Party for the Animals | | 24,672 | 7.1 | +4.3 | 3 | +2 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Denk | | 23,138 | 6.7 | New | 3 | New |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Forum for Democracy | | 20,015 | 5.8 | New | 3 | New |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Christian Democratic Appeal | | 11,991 | 3.5 | +0.7 | 1 | +0 |- | style="color:inherit;background:#4878A8" | | align=left| Party for the Elderly | | 7,752 | 2.2 | +0.1 | 1 | +0 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Christian Union | | 6,837 | 2.0 | +0.2 | 1 | +1 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Amsterdam Bij1 | | 6,571 | 1.9 | New | 1 | New |- |colspan="9" style="background:#E9E9E9;"| |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| Pirate Party Amsterdam | | 4,459 | 1.3 | −0.5 | 0 | +0 |- | style="color:inherit;background:| | align=left| 50PLUS | | 4,233 | 1.2 | New | 0 | New
| colspan=2 align=left| Other | 7,923 | 2.3 | | 0 | |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | style="text-align:left;" colspan=3 |Total valid votes | 347,148 | 100 | | 45
| colspan=3 align=left| Invalid/blank votes | 4,511 | 1.3
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan=3 align=left| Total & turnout | 351,659 | 51.2 | +1.9
| align=left colspan=9 |Source: Verkiezingsuitslagen
Municipal Government 2022–2026 + Municipal ExecutivesNamePortfolio PartyFemke Halsema Mayor of AmsterdamGeneral Affairs, Safety, Legal Affairs, & Communications GLMarjolein Moorman Education, Poverty, Civic Integration, Masterplan Zuidoost PvdASofyan Mbarki Economic Affairs, Sport & Recreation, MBO Agenda, Vocational Education & Labour Market Integration, Youth Work, Inner City Affairs PvdAHester van Buren Finance, Personnel & Organisation, Coordination of operations, Services, Air and Sea Port, Coordination of purchasing PvdARutger Groot Wassink Social Affairs, Shelter, Municipal Holdings, Democratization, Development Plan Nieuw-West GLZita Pels Sustainability & Circular Economy, Public Housing GLTouria Meliani Arts and Culture, Monuments & Heritage, Events, Inclusion and Antidiscrimination policy GLReinier van Dantzig Housing construction, Land & Development, Spatial Planning D66Melanie van der Horst Traffic, transport & air quality, Public Space & Green, Water, Development Plan Amsterdam-Noord) D66Shula Rijxman Care & social development, Public Health & Prevention, ICT and Digital City, Local Media, Participations D66
Municipal Government 2026–present + Municipal ExecutivesNamePortfolio PartyFemke Halsema Mayor of AmsterdamGeneral Affairs, Safety, Legal Affairs, & Communications GLZita Pels Housing, housing development, asylum and reception, and the South East Master Plan PROSofyan Mbarki Work and Income, Income Security, Academic Institutions, Sports and Physical Activity, Community Facilities, Municipal Holdings, and the New West Master Plan PROEsmah Lahlah Education, including libraries, Youth Care, Youth Work and Youth Development PROHendrik Jan Biemond Finance, Arts and Culture, Human Resources and Organisation, including business operations, and Animal Welfare PROAraya Sumter Social Justice, including poverty reduction and debt support, support for victims of the childcare benefits scandal, Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Organisation, and coordination of targeted investment for equal opportunities PROLian Heinhuis Sustainability and Energy Transition, Green Spaces and Outdoor Play, Water, Heritage, Food Strategy and Waste PROMelanie van der Horst Economic Affairs, Services, City Centre Approach, Digital Affairs and the North Approach D66Alexander Scholtes Spatial Planning, Construction Stimulation, Land and Development, Healthcare, and Older Adults, including senior housing D66Elise Moeskops Mobility, Public Space, Waterways, Municipal Property and Events D66
Mayors
Boroughs & urban area