I amsterdam - Profile of Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam

One of Cohen’s first notable acts as mayor was to officiate over the first ever same-sex legal marriage, having piloted as Deputy Minister of Justice the legislation required only months earlier.

Together with the city aldermen and city council, Cohen distinguished himself in 2005 by preventing escalation after the murder (by a fundamentalist Muslim fanatic) of film director Theo van Gogh (2004). He led the city’s people in a street protest meeting, calling for unity and tolerance. Ever since the murder, which saw Cohen himself targeted by the assassin (who was arrested immediately), the mayor, the aldermen and the city councillors have made an enormous effort to involve all inhabitants of Amsterdam – from all communities indiscriminately, exception made for those threatening with or practising violence – in a tolerant, peaceful and open society without discrimination.

The fundamentalist murder triggered on the other hand a tough policy on radicalism and radicalisation, where mayor Cohen as head of the Amsterdam police and in close cooperation again with his aldermen and the City Council, plays a prominent role, not accepting any violence, threat of violence or other abuses in the city, in close collaboration, when necessary, with national security services.

Cohen´s approach brought him huge popularity in the Netherlands. Furthermore Cohen was named one of Time magazine’s ‘2005 European Heroes’, was chosen ‘best mayor of the Netherlands 2006’, ‘best mayor of the Netherlands in the last 25 years’ and has been nominated ‘best mayor of the world 2006’.

Cohen´s ambition

The ambition of Job Cohen as Mayor of Amsterdam – but in his view it should be the ambition of every mayor – is to keep all groups and all other stakeholders in the city together: inhabitants, companies, shops, those who work there, youth, tourists, everybody. This has nothing to do with passivity – on the contrary, nothing is harder to obtain. In a city everybody has plans of their own, their lifestyles, their ambitions. How does one deal with people who like to party living next to people who hate noise? How does one satisfy a Muslim community wanting their own mosque, complete with a 40 meter high minaret in a neighbourhood where no high buildings exist and people want to keep it that way? How does one find a way to involve the second-generation Muslim youth in the society? How does one find teenagers a place of their own – i.e. where they can safely behave as teenagers – without scaring other people? How does one secure sufficient care for those who need it? How does one keep the city a safe place without putting a policeman on every street corner?

Most important is Cohen’s policy to fight radicalisation on the one hand by his inclusive strategy of trying to involve all (new) groups in the Amsterdam society, but on the other hand by severe police action against anyone who is breaking the law. The mayor is particularly hard on people discriminating others (for example doorkeepers at bars and clubs, employers refusing to engage (young) Muslim employees, intolerance against Jews, women, homosexuals).

About Job Cohen

Job Cohen (Marius Job Cohen) was born on 18 October 1947 in the city of Haarlem. After completing high school in 1966 (Gymnasium A) he studied Public Law at GroningenUniversity, graduating in 1971. He took his PhD at LeidenUniversity in 1981 (Law in relation to university studies).

From 1971 to 1981 he was on the academic staff of the Educational Research Bureau at LeidenUniversity, becoming senior faculty member (1981), professor (1983) and rector magnificus at MaastrichtUniversity (1991).

From 1993 to 1994 Cohen served as Deputy Minister of Education and Science (under confessional Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers), after which he returned to MaastrichtUniversity from 1995 to 1998, again as rector magnificus. Also in 1995 he was elected as a member of the Upper House of the Dutch parliament (Eerste Kamer van de Staten Generaal).

After a brief interim directorship in 1998 of the VPRO broadcasting organisation (public sector), he resigned from the Upper House of parliament and served from 1998 to 2001 as Deputy Minister of Justice under Labour Prime Minister Wim Kok, and introduced a new Dutch immigration law. Cohen resigned from the cabinet at the end of 2000 to become mayor of Amsterdam in 2001.

Furthermore Job Cohen has been active as a member of the Educational Council, the Supervisory Board of the TNO (Dutch organisation for applied scientific research) and Felix Meritis (cultural foundation), and the boards of the VPRO public broadcasting organisation and the Jan van Eyck Academy (art school).

Cohen was named one of Time magazine’s ‘2005 European Heroes’, was chosen ‘best mayor of the Netherlands 2006’, ‘best mayor of the Netherlands in the last 25 years’ and has been nominated ‘best mayor of the world 2006’.

Job Cohen held several positions in the PvdA (Dutch Labour Party), which he joined at the age of 20 in 1967.

Cohen is married (1972) and has a son and a daughter.

[1]Mayors of Dutch cities are appointed by the cabinet in the name of the monarch.