Youngest mayor is 32 and is going to work in Nieuwkoop

Robbert-Jan van Duijn (CDA) starts today as the new mayor of the Nieuwkoop municipality. At 32, he is the youngest mayor of the Netherlands.

Van Duijn himself is not very concerned about his age, he says Broadcasting West. “It’s quite an honor, but in the end age is just a number. It’s nice, but I find it more special that I’m the first Kudelstaarter to become mayor.”

Red lantern

With his appointment as mayor, Van Duijn is the bearer of the red lantern. This is what the Dutch Society of Mayors calls the youngest mayor of the Netherlands. Until Van Duijn was sworn in, that honor went to Joyce Vermue. She became mayor of Zundert in Noord-Brabant in July last year and was then 33 years old.

Van Duijn was the alderman of the municipality of Aalsmeer, a few kilometers across the provincial border in North Holland. There he was, among other things, concerned with the nuisance from Schiphol. At 22 years old, Van Duijn was also the youngest councilor to be installed in Aalsmeer.

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