Frans Willeme

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Frans Willeme (born December 23, 1952 in Eygelshoven , Limburg province ) is a Dutch local politician ( CDA ). In 2011, he narrowly missed the majority in the election for mayor of Nordhorn in Lower Saxony , which is right on the Dutch border. He would have become the first foreign mayor in a country in the European Union .

Life

Frans Willeme studied law and then worked in city administrations in Geleen and Oegstgeest , Province of Zuid-Holland . In 1988 he became mayor of the municipality of Denekamp , located five kilometers from Nordhorn , in the Twente region , in the Overijssel province . After a municipal reorganization, from 2001 to 2008 he was mayor of the successor municipality of Dinkelland with 26,000 inhabitants.

As early as 2005, today's Nordhorn mayor Friedel Witte ( SPD ) tried to persuade Willeme to run for candidacy in Nordhorn. But he could not organize a majority in the SPD. In 2009 the Nordhorn CDU started an attempt. Willeme agreed and was supported not only by the CDU, but also by the FDP and the voter community Initiative pro Grafschaft . However, the SPD put up its own candidate, Thomas Berling , then head of the local zoo .

In the local elections in Lower Saxony on September 11, 2011, all EU citizens living in the town were entitled to vote from the age of 16. In addition, a candidate for mayor no longer had to have his permanent residence in the municipality in which he wanted to run. Willeme achieved 49.9 percent and thus gained 12.5 percentage points for the bourgeois side compared to the last mayoral election. In absolute terms, opponent Berling had 66 more votes. The SPD, which has been the mayor for 25 years, remained the strongest parliamentary group in the city council.

In 2014 Willeme was awarded the Euregio's People-to-People Prize for its commitment to cross-border cooperation and the German-Dutch neighborhood .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Message from the taz dated September 12, 2011 , accessed on September 13, 2011
  2. ^ Page of the Land Returning Officer , accessed on September 13, 2011
  3. ↑ Graphic on the site of the city of Nordhorn  ( site no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 13, 2011@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.nordhorn.de  
  4. ↑ Westfälische Nachrichten: Model for cross-border cooperation. Euregio Prize to Frans Willeme , accessed on May 31, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Willeme, Frans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch and German local politicians (CDA)
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Eygelshoven