Ms. Willemsma will start tomorrow immediately and will remain until the appointment of a new Crown-appointed mayor of Ameland. That appointment will take place at the earliest at the end of next year due to the municipal elections in mid-March. As soon as possible after the elections, it will be considered when the vacancy will be opened.
The commissioner of the King and the confidence committee of the municipal council of Ameland have agreed that there would be an acting mayor until the arrival of a Crown-appointed mayor. The council has been able to express wishes to the commissioner regarding the qualifications the acting mayor should meet. The council is now working on a profile sketch for a new Crown-appointed mayor. The search for a new mayor will begin after the council has established the profile sketch. The acting mayor will, in consultation with the confidence committee and Ms. Willemsma herself, not be part of the procedure to appoint a new Crown-appointed mayor.
Willemsma has been an alderman in the municipality of Tytsjerksteradiel since February 2019. Before that, she was an advisor to the Northern Netherlands Cooperation (SNN) at the House of the Dutch Provinces in Brussels (2011-2019) and an alderman in the municipality of Dongeradeel (2006-2011). With the appointment of Willemsma, there are eight female mayors in Fryslân. Thus, almost half of the Frisian mayoral corps is female.
