Huri Şahin, the first female mayor of Turkish origin in the Netherlands, started her duty. Taking over the seat of Mayor of Rijswijk, near the city of The Hague, from former Mayor Bas Verkerk, who has been in office for more than two years, Şahin was sworn in at a special council meeting in the presence of Dutch King Willem-Alexander’s Commissioner in South Holland, Jaap Smit. .
In his speech, Şahin said, “If I was going to do politics one day, I wanted to make a fair policy. My motivation to be the mayor is to help the people living in Rijswijk and the local government move forward together. I look forward to building a connected city that cares about each other and offers opportunities to everyone. ” said.
“TOGETHER WE CAN DO A LOT”
Emphasizing that being the mayor means being together with the people, Şahin said, “I cannot do all this alone. We live in a difficult time and we need each other, our city council, our citizens, our entrepreneurs and many organizations more than ever. Together we can achieve a lot.” said.
Şahin, who has been a director of the Local Rotterdam Foundation and chairing the Children’s Rights Collective in previous years, was nominated for mayor on 11 October by the secret committee of the Rijswijk City Council. Born to an immigrant family from Adana, Şahin was born in 1975 in Deventer, Netherlands. (UAV)