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Policy Committee

Policy Committee - 03.12.2013

Annemarie Jorritsma, first woman elected president of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions
Annemarie Jorritsma-Lebbink was elected President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) on 2 December 2013 at the occasion of the CEMR Policy Committee in Prague (Czech Republic).

Ms. Jorritsma, also Mayor of Almere (Netherlands) and President of our national Association of Netherlands Municipalities, VNG, was elected unanimously for a mandate of three years. The first woman at the head of CEMR, she wishes to strengthen coordination with other European bodies of local and regional authorities: “We can influence the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. However, we cannot do it from our side alone. We must collaborate with other organisations such as the Committee of the Regions and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in order to avoid any overlap or duplication, and to further strengthen our networks.”

The new president, who succeeds former mayor of Stuttgart, Wolfgang Schuster, has had a long political career, having held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister of Netherlands and Minister of Economic Affairs (1998-2002).

In addition, CEMR has renewed its Policy Committee. With respect to its new rules on equality between men and women, 44% of elected members are women and 56% are men.

The new president is joined by two new co-presidents:
 
  • Giorgio Orsoni, Mayor of Venice (Italy), President of the Regional Federation of AICCRE Veneto ;
  • Íñigo Joaquín de la Serna Hernaiz, Mayor of Santander (Spain), President of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP).

The Policy Committee also elected the following members to the Executive Bureau:

Executive presidents
 
  • António Costa, Mayor of Lisbon, co-president of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG);
  • Anders Knape, City councillor of Karlstad (Sweden), Vice-president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, President of the Swedish Association of Local and Regional Authorities (SALAR);
  • Dagmar Mühlenfeld, Mayor of Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany);
  • Oldřich Vlasák, City councillor of Hradec Kralové (Czech Republic), Member of European Parliament and vice-president of the Union of Towns and Communities of the Czech Republic (SMO-CR).

Vice-presidents
 
  • Gunn Marit Helgesen, City councillor of Telemark and Porsgrunn (Norway), President of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS);
  • Gordon Keymer, City councillor of Tandridge (United Kingdom), Member of the Executive Board of Local Government Association (LGA);
  • Francisco Javier León De La Riva, Mayor of Valladolid (Spain), President of the international relations commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP);
  • Ewa Masny, Vice-president of Warsaw City Council (Poland), Management Board Member of the Association of Polish Counties (APC);
  • Christiane Overmans, City councillor of Bonn (Germany), Management Board Member of the German Association of CEMR (RGRE);
  • Bülent Tanık, Mayor of Çankaya – Ankara (Turkey), Executive Board Member of the Union of Turkish Municipalities (UMT);
  • Lazaros Savvides, Mayor of Strovolos (Cyprus), Member of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities (UCM).

Vice-presidents (non-Bureau members)
 
  • Markku Andersson, Mayor of Jyväskylä (Finland), Management Board Member of the Finnish Association of Local and Regional Authorities (AFLRA);
  • Marianna Gâju, Mayor of Cumpăna (Romania), First Vice-President of the Association of Romanian Communes (ACoR).
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