Pauline Christine Krikke (born 9 May 1961) is a Dutch politician who served as

mayor of The Hague Below is a list of mayors of The Hague since it was decided in 1824 that only one mayor at a time would govern the city. List 1824–1956 1957–present : : : : See also * Timeline of The Hague References {{Reflist The Hague The H ...

from 2017 until 2019. A member of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD), she previously served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

from 2001 to 2013. She started her career as a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

(1994–1996) and

alderwoman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

(1996–2001) and was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

between 2015 and 2017.

Early life and education

Pauline Krikke was born in

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). Th ...

in 1961. After graduating from the Frederik Muller Academy, Krikke studied law for some years at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. At the time she became increasingly involved in both international relations and public administration. She served on the National Board of the Student Association for International Relations (SIB) and the Executive Committee of the International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN).

Career

After leading the campaign for the VVD in Amsterdam in 1986, she started her own service company for campaigns, congresses and events, meanwhile serving on the boards of Housing Corporation Nieuw Amsterdam, Employers association for Childcarecentres, and the Governments Council of Youth Policy.

Local politics (1994–2013)

In 1994, Krikke was elected for the Amsterdam's City Council, and two years later, she was appointed in the ''

college van burgemeester en wethouders In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of the mayor and the members of t ...

'' for economic affairs, airports and seaports. After the elections of 1998, she was assigned the portfolios 'economic affairs and employment' and 'urban planning, housing and economy of the inner city'. She has also fulfilled several functions as a council member and commissioner, and was delegation leader of international missions with representatives of companies and institutions from Amsterdam In 2001 she was appointed by The Crown to be the Mayor of Arnhem, and in 2007 for another term of six years. Meanwhile, she held governmental subsidiary positions such as Taskforce Youth Unemployment, and Consultative Commission On Disaster Relief. Within her own political party she was Chairperson of the Permanent Committee for scouting Representatives for the National and European Parliaments (2004–2012). On 29 October 2012, Krikke announced she would not seek a third term as mayor of Arnhem, creating ample time for both the municipality and herself, for "flow, and recalibration of perspectives" before the summer of 2013. On her departure she was invested as a Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Member of the Senate (2015–17)

Between 2015 and 2017, Krikke served as member of the

. In addition to her parliamentary assignments, Krikke also served as member of the Dutch delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

since 2016. As member of the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Euro ...

group, she is currently a member of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media. She was part of a cross-party delegation to observe the 2016 parliamentary elections in Macedonia.

Mayor of the Hague (2017–2019)

In March 2017 she became mayor of

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. Almost all local parties supported her appointment. In October 2019 she resigned, following the conclusions of a report that blamed her office with the 2018 New Year's Eve and 2019 New Year's Day fires in Scheveningen, The Hague.

Other activities

Krikke has been a Fellow of the

German Marshall Fund of the United States The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972 through a gift from the We ...

since 1992 and as such participated in the Migration Dialogue 1998–2000. The

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc a ...

selected Krikke for its supervisory board (2003–2011). Krikke will remain on the board of the

Netherlands Red Cross The Netherlands Red Cross ( nl, Rode Kruis) was founded in 1867. It is among the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It adopts branch governance structure which leads to approximately 214 branches that enables it to serve the whole country. It ...

and a member of the Dutch Delegation in the Governing Board of the

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...

(IFRC). Other positions of Krikke include Chairperson of the (RDW), Chairperson of the Nationwide Consultation consumer interests Public Transport, Chairperson of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Dutch Association of Insurers, and a member of Association Aegon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krikke, Pauline 1961 births Living people Aldermen of Amsterdam Dutch civil servants Dutch women civil servants Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Mayors of Arnhem Mayors of The Hague Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Amsterdam People from Sneek People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Women mayors of places in the Netherlands