RTV OostLenferink, the outgoing mayor of Leiden
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Broadcasting West
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 10:11
After twenty years, the mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, is calling it a day. As of 2020, he was the longest-serving mayor in the Netherlands. The PvdA member is taking off his chain of office today.
During the time that Lenferink was mayor, he was confronted with various dramas. For example, in 2021, 14-year-old Esmee was killed by her gymnastics teacher and left dead in a park in the city. “You have a knot in your stomach,” Lenferink said last week Broadcasting West. “The only thing you can do is be there. As a mayor you don’t want to come to the fore too much.”
The fact that I was indirectly expressing my criticism in the beginning made people like me.
Henri Lenferink, outgoing mayor of Leiden
Another key moment in Lenferink’s career was in 2014. Benno L., a former swimming teacher who was convicted of sexual assault with dozens of children, had been given permission to come and live in Leiden after serving his sentence. Other municipalities refused, but Lenferink agreed. The decision was met with much criticism.
“I think it was good that we finally did it. At that time it was extremely difficult for the Public Prosecution Service to accommodate people with this background. After that time it was actually much easier,” says Lenferink looking back.
ANPLenferink in conversation with demonstrators who are against the arrival of Benno L
The 66-year-old mayor was not born in Leiden, but in Delden in Twente. “The people in the east of the country are a bit more indirect in what they say,” says Lenferink RTV East. “The fact that I was indirectly expressing my criticism in the beginning made people like me. That may have helped me the most.”
All in all, Lenferink looks back on his mayorship with satisfaction. “I have had very difficult periods and many happy periods. In the end, I feel especially grateful that I have been able to fulfill this office for twenty years here.”
PvdA member Peter van der Velden temporarily takes over Lenferink’s duties as acting mayor. Leiden is expected to have a new mayor in a year’s time.
2023-08-31 08:11:21
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